Building MAME using Microsoft Visual Studio compilers: Difference between revisions

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# You must already have an environment that can build MAME using the MinGW tools. Although you won't be using gcc to compile, you will be using several of the other tools included in the standard MAME [http://mamedev.org/tools/ MinGW Development Environment]
# You must already have an environment that can build MAME using the MinGW tools. Although you won't be using gcc to compile, you will be using several of the other tools included in the standard MAME [http://mamedev.org/tools/ MinGW Development Environment]
# From the command prompt, you need to run the batch file that was installed with Visual Studio which configures the executable, include, and library paths.
#* For example, on Visual Studio 2005, the command is: <code>"\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\vcvarsall.bat" x86</code> (To build a 64-bit version, change the <code>x86</code> to <code>amd64</code>)
# Switch to the directory where the root MAME makefile lives.
# Switch to the directory where the root MAME makefile lives.
# Once you've done that, simply run: <code>make MSVC_BUILD=1 DEBUG=1 SYMBOLS=1</code> and wait for it to complete (I suggest building with DEBUG=1 as that also disables optimizations and makes debugging much easier).
# Once you've done that, simply run: <code>make vs2015 PYTHON_EXECUTABLE=c:/buildtools/usr/bin/python.exe</code> and wait for it to create projects
 
# In order not to specify PYTHON_EXECUTABLE all the time, just placed it in system variables
At this point, you should now have a mamed.exe that was built using Visual Studio tools. To debug it is very easy.
# For Visual Studio 2013 use:  <code>make vs2013 </code>
 
# If you are building with XP compatibility enabled run  <code>make vs2015_xp</code> or <code>make vs2013_xp</code>
# Open up Visual Studio.
# Browse to folder containing solution file and open it with Visual Studio
# From the File menu choose "Open Project..."
# Inside Visual Studio you can change to Debug/Release x86 or x64 builds
# Select vmamed.exe (you may need to adjust the file filters to show .exe files).
# While doing development please note that you need to update LUA files in scripts folders in order to add new sources and regenerate projects
# To configure command line parameters, right click on the vmamed.exe item in the Solution Explorer window and choose "Properties". In that window you can specify the "Command Arguments" which would be the command line parameters you want.
# Note that all parameters for partial compilation works so you can do <code>make SUBTARGET=tiny vs2015</code> or <code>make vs2015 SUBTARGET=drivername SOURCES=src\mame\drivers\drivername.cpp</code>
# Set some breakpoints if you want, and hit "Go" (F5), or else single step into main by hitting "Step Into" (F11).
# When you're done, Visual Studio will ask if you want to save a solution file (.sln); I usually say "yes", because then it will remember your last session parameters for the next time you want to debug MAME, and the solution will show up in the recent projects list.
 
Back to [[How MAME Works]]
Back to [[How MAME Works]]

Revision as of 16:08, 29 March 2016

By default, MAME is configured via the makefile to build using the MinGW gcc compiler. Although this is a nice cross-platform solution, debugging binaries built this way leaves a lot to be desired.

If you own a copy of Visual Studio, you can configure MAME to build using those tools instead. Once you have done that, you can debug problems in MAME using the Visual Studio debugger, which is a huge step up from gdb.

Here's how to make it work:

  1. You must already have an environment that can build MAME using the MinGW tools. Although you won't be using gcc to compile, you will be using several of the other tools included in the standard MAME MinGW Development Environment
  2. Switch to the directory where the root MAME makefile lives.
  3. Once you've done that, simply run: make vs2015 PYTHON_EXECUTABLE=c:/buildtools/usr/bin/python.exe and wait for it to create projects
  4. In order not to specify PYTHON_EXECUTABLE all the time, just placed it in system variables
  5. For Visual Studio 2013 use: make vs2013
  6. If you are building with XP compatibility enabled run make vs2015_xp or make vs2013_xp
  7. Browse to folder containing solution file and open it with Visual Studio
  8. Inside Visual Studio you can change to Debug/Release x86 or x64 builds
  9. While doing development please note that you need to update LUA files in scripts folders in order to add new sources and regenerate projects
  10. Note that all parameters for partial compilation works so you can do make SUBTARGET=tiny vs2015 or make vs2015 SUBTARGET=drivername SOURCES=src\mame\drivers\drivername.cpp

Back to How MAME Works

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