C++/CX projects are not supported

[saqadri]

Type: LanguageService

Describe the bug

• OS and Version: Windows 10 (but shouldn't be version specific)
• VS Code Version: 1.30.1 (but shouldn't be version specific)
• C/C++ Extension Version: 0.20.1 (but shouldn't be version specific)
• Other extensions you installed (and if the issue persists after disabling them): N/A
• A clear and concise description of what the bug is:

In cl.exe, C++/CX is enabled using the /ZW flag. There is at present no facility to enable this from IntelliSense perspective in the cpptools extension.

There are some approaches to this:

• allow a --cppcx flag on the compilerPath, similar to /clr (see C++ CLI support for assembly references #1987).
• allow a generic compilerFlags field to specify arbitrary compiler flags, one of which could be /ZW, which then gets translated to the relevant EDG setting.

To Reproduce
Set up a C++/CX project

Expected behavior
C++/CX constructs are supported

[sean-mcmanus]

Do you need support for the /AI command line for adding directories to search for files when using #using? I'm not sure how important that is to add.

UPDATE: We'll just enable /AI on the compilerPath for now...we might support it via includePath later on.

[sherryyshi]

Hi @sean-mcmanus ,
Bob mentioned that you will be enabling this through the compilerArgs param. FYI to enable C++/CX we specify the following compiler args:
ZW, /ZW:nostdlib, /FU<platform.winmd>, /FU<Windows.winmd>, /AI<metadataDirectory>

Currently the .winmd files are passed into the forcedInclude param - let me know if we should change that.

Also, let me know if you want me to test out your implementation as I'm currently looking into enabling this scenario.

Thanks,
Sherry

[sean-mcmanus]

@sherryyshi Yeah, thanks for the info. We process the /ZW and /AI, but not the /ZW:nostdlib and /FU flags, i.e. we automatically use the platform.winmd and windows.winmd -- did you need those set in a special way that is different from their default locations. I can send you a .vsix with the change when I get it finalized/tested.

[sean-mcmanus]

We added support for /ZW, /ZW:nostdlib, /FI, /FU, and /AI compiler arguments. See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/cppcx/compiler-and-linker-options-c-cx?view=vs-2019 . compilerPath needs to be set for "cl.exe" except in the special case where a custom configuration provider is used, in which case compilerPath can be "", but the path to vccorlib.h needs to be in the includePath (in addition to be specified with the /FI flag or forcedInclude setting).

[sean-mcmanus]

C++/CX is available with 0.26.0.