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2019 2021 | Microsoft Visual C

During this period, Microsoft began heavily teasing and testing a 64-bit version of the Visual Studio IDE (devenv.exe). While Visual Studio 2019 remained primarily a 32-bit process, the 2021 previews of Visual Studio 2022 (the successor) marked the final transition to a 64-bit architecture, allowing the IDE to handle massive C++ codebases without memory constraints.

| Compiler | C++20 conformance | Binary size (relative) | Build speed (relative to MSVC) | |----------|------------------|------------------------|--------------------------------| | MSVC 2021 | 92% | 1.0x (baseline) | 1.0x | | Clang 13 | 89% | 0.95x | 1.2x (with -O2) | | GCC 11 | 94% | 1.05x | 0.85x (on Windows via MinGW) |

MSVC 2021 achieved best Windows integration (PDB, ASan, hot-patching) but was slightly behind GCC in constexpr evaluation depth. microsoft visual c 2019 2021


This paper examines the Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) compiler toolchain as part of Visual Studio 2019 (released 2019) and its major updates through 2021. It focuses on standards conformance (C++17/20), security enhancements, build throughput improvements, and the introduction of the /std:c++latest mode. The study finds that between 2019 and 2021, MSVC achieved near-full support for C++17, substantial C++20 feature completion, and significant parallel compilation optimizations, while maintaining backward compatibility with legacy code.


A common question from users who see Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 2021 alongside "2015" and "2017" is: Can I delete the old ones? During this period, Microsoft began heavily teasing and

Absolutely not. Here is why:

Microsoft does not practice "backward compatibility" for C++ runtimes the way it does for standard Windows APIs. This paper examines the Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC)

They do not overwrite each other. They live side-by-side. Modern AAA games (like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Fortnite) often require multiple runtimes simultaneously. If you uninstall the "old" 2019 version, a game that specifically looks for the 2021 update will crash immediately.