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Using libmongoc in a Microsoft Visual Studio project
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Download and install libmongoc on your system, then open Visual Studio, select "File -> New -> Project...", and create a new Win32 Console Application.
Remember to switch the platform from 32-bit to 64-bit:
Right-click on your console application in the Solution Explorer and select "Properties". Choose to edit properties for "All Configurations", expand the "C/C++" options and choose "General". Add to the "Additional Include Directories" these paths:
C:\mongo-c-driver\include\libbson-1.0 C:\mongo-c-driver\include\libmongoc-1.0
(If you chose a different $PREFIX
when you installed mongo-c-driver,
your include paths will be different.)
Also in the Properties dialog, expand the "Linker" options and choose "Input", and add to the "Additional Dependencies" these libraries:
C:\mongo-c-driver\lib\bson-1.0.lib C:\mongo-c-driver\lib\mongoc-1.0.lib
Adding these libraries as dependencies provides linker symbols to build your application, but to actually run it, libbson's and libmongoc's DLLs must be in your executable path. Select "Debugging" in the Properties dialog, and set the "Environment" option to:
PATH=c:/mongo-c-driver/bin
Finally, include "mongoc/mongoc.h" in your project's "stdafx.h":
Static linking
Following the instructions above, you have dynamically linked your application to the libbson and
libmongoc DLLs. This is usually the right choice. If you want to link statically instead, update
your "Additional Dependencies" list by removing bson-1.0.lib and mongoc-1.0.lib and replacing
them with these libraries:
C:\mongo-c-driver\lib\bson-static-1.0.lib C:\mongo-c-driver\lib\mongoc-static-1.0.lib ws2_32.lib Secur32.lib Crypt32.lib BCrypt.lib
(To explain the purpose of each library: bson-static-1.0.lib and mongoc-static-1.0.lib are
static archives of the driver code. The socket library ws2_32 is required by libbson, which uses the
socket routine gethostname to help guarantee ObjectId uniqueness. The BCrypt library is used by libmongoc
for TLS connections to MongoDB, and Secur32 and Crypt32 are required for enterprise authentication methods
like Kerberos.)
Finally, define two preprocessor symbols before including mongoc/mongoc.h in your stdafx.h:
Making these changes to your project is only required for static linking; for most people, the dynamic-linking instructions above are preferred.
Next Steps
Now you can build and debug applications in Visual Studio that use libbson and libmongoc. Proceed to Making a Connection in the tutorial to learn how connect to MongoDB and perform operations.