Visual Basic Compiler Options Listed by Category
The Visual Basic command-line compiler is provided as an alternative to compiling programs from within the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE). The following is a list of the Visual Basic command-line compiler options sorted by functional category.
Compiler Output
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Suppresses compiler banner information. |
|
Displays compiler output using UTF-8 encoding. |
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Outputs extra information during compilation. |
Optimization
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Specifies where to align the sections of the output file. |
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Enables/disables optimizations. |
Output Files
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Process documentation comments to an XML file. |
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Sets the compiler to target the .NET Compact Framework. |
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Specifies an output file. |
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Specifies the format of the output. |
.NET Assemblies
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Causes the compiler to make all type information from the specified file(s) available to the project you are currently compiling. |
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Specifies whether the assembly will be fully or partially signed. |
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Imports a namespace from a specified assembly. |
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Specifies a key container name for a key pair to give an assembly a strong name. |
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Specifies a file containing a key or key pair to give an assembly a strong name. |
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Specifies the location of assemblies referenced by the /reference option. |
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Imports metadata from an assembly. |
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Specifies the name of the assembly that a module will be a part of. |
Debugging/Error Checking
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Creates a file that contains information that makes it easy to report a bug. |
|
Produces debugging information. |
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Suppresses the compiler's ability to generate warnings. |
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Prevents the compiler from displaying code for syntax-related errors and warnings. |
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Disables integer overflow checking. |
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Promotes warnings to errors. |
Help
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Displays the compiler options. This command is the same as specifying the /help option. No compilation occurs. |
|
Displays the compiler options. This command is the same as specifying the /? option. No compilation occurs. |
Language
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Enforces explicit declaration of variables. |
|
Enforces strict type semantics. |
|
Specifies whether string comparisons should be binary or use locale-specific text semantics. |
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Enables the use of local type inference in variable declarations. |
Preprocessor
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Defines symbols for conditional compilation. |
Resources
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Creates a link to a managed resource. |
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Embeds a managed resource in an assembly. |
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Inserts an .ico file into the output file. |
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Inserts a Win32 resource into the output file. |
Miscellaneous
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Specifies a response file. |
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Specifies the base address of a DLL. |
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Specifies the code page to use for all source code files in the compilation. |
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Specifies how the Visual Basic compiler should report internal compiler errors. |
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Specifies the class that contains the SubMain procedure to use at startup. |
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Do not compile with Vbc.rsp |
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Causes the compiler not to reference the standard libraries. |
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Instructs the compiler not to embed any application manifest into the executable file. |
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Specifies the processor platform the compiler targets for the output file. |
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Searches subdirectories for source files to compile. |
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Specifies a namespace for all type declarations. |
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Specifies the location of Mscorlib.dll and Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll. |
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Specifies that the compiler should compile without a reference to the Visual Basic Runtime Library, or with a reference to a specific runtime library. |
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Identifies a user-defined Win32 application manifest file to be embedded into a project's portable executable (PE) file. |
See Also
Concepts
Introduction to the Project Designer