PostgreSQL 8.3.17 Documentation
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# 16.2. Building libpq with Visual C++ or Borland C++

Using Visual C++ 7.1-8.0 or Borland C++ to build libpq is only recommended if you need a version with different debug/release flags, or if you need a static library to link into an application. For normal use the MinGW or Visual Studio 2005 version is recommended.

To build the libpq client library using Visual Studio 7.1 or later, change into the `src` directory and type the command

    nmake /f win32.mak

To build a 64-bit version of the libpq client library using Visual Studio 8.0 or later, change into the `src` directory and type in the command

    nmake /f win32.mak CPU=AMD64

See the `win32.mak` file for further details about supported variables.

To build the libpq client library using Borland C++, change into the `src` directory and type the command

    make -N -DCFG=Release /f bcc32.mak

## 16.2.1. Generated files

The following files will be built:

`interfaces\libpq\Release\libpq.dll`

  The dynamically linkable frontend library

`interfaces\libpq\Release\libpqdll.lib`

  Import library to link your programs to `libpq.dll`

`interfaces\libpq\Release\libpq.lib`

  Static version of the frontend library

Normally you do not need to install any of the client files. You should place the `libpq.dll` file in the same directory as your applications executable file. Do not install `libpq.dll` into your Windows, System or System32 directory unless absolutely necessary. If this file is installed using a setup program, it should be installed with version checking using the `VERSIONINFO` resource included in the file, to ensure that a newer version of the library is not overwritten.

If you are planning to do development using libpq on this machine, you will have to add the `src\include` and `src\interfaces\libpq` subdirectories of the source tree to the include path in your compiler's settings.

To use the library, you must add the `libpqdll.lib` file to your project. (In Visual C++, just right-click on the project and choose to add it.)

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