Hi everyone , wanted to ask if Microsoft C++ Build Tools requires high data or much storage to install,for instance (5gb) I want to be sure I'm doing the right thing
On my windows 11 system, the C++ build tools installed via the visual studio installer requires around 6gb of storage. The actual storage in Program Files and ProgramData is around 4gb.
I have these packages installed:
One thing you can do is install the Windows SDK manually and unselect some of the defaults. E.g.:
From the visual studio installer the only components you need is the latest MSVC build tools:
The actual install size should be less than the estimates but it still takes a fair bit of space.
Another alternative is to use the GCC compiler, which, in my MingW folder, takes up around 600mb.
This does result in a different configuration for development when starting out, however.
The GNU toolchain is usually better for debugging because it offers a better visibility of the variables, so it's worth installing it. Though I suppose it depends on what tool you're using (I'm using RustRover).
It's quite slower to compile and do tests, however, especially doc tests.
But you should know that developing in Rust also requires a lot of space outside of the VS build tools. Currently, my project directory alone takes 3.3 GB with the target built in Debug. All my Rust projects take 37 GB, but I could certainly do some clean-up and save a lot. The local cache for rustup eats up 9 GB, and that's after cleaning it up not long ago (and my current projects use few dependencies), but I could perhaps remove a couple of older toolchains.
You'd need at least 20-25 GB to be comfortable if you don't develop too many projects, I'd say.
I just want to remind that while pure Rust projects work equally well with both Microsoft C++ Build Tools and GNU toolchain, but when you need C++ library it's hit and miss story. So if you need some C++ libraries uing GNU toolchain may not be an option.
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