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Sample Compilation Command Lines

As an alternative to compiling Visual Basic programs from within Visual Studio, you can compile from the command line to produce executable (.exe) files or dynamic-link library (.dll) files.

The Visual Basic command-line compiler supports a complete set of options that control input and output files, assemblies, and debug and preprocessor options. Each option is available in two interchangeable forms: -option and /option. This documentation shows only the /option form.

The following table lists some sample command lines you can modify for your own use.

To

Use

Compile File.vb and create File.exe

vbc /reference:Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll File.vb

Compile File.vb and create File.dll

vbc /target:library File.vb

Compile File.vb and create My.exe

vbc /out:My.exe File.vb

Compile all Visual Basic files in the current directory, with optimizations on and the DEBUG symbol defined, producing File2.exe

vbc /define:DEBUG=1 /optimize /out:File2.exe *.vb

Compile all Visual Basic files in the current directory, producing a debug version of File2.dll without displaying the logo or warnings

vbc /target:library /out:File2.dll /nowarn /nologo /debug *.vb

Compile all Visual Basic files in the current directory to Something.dll

vbc /target:library /out:Something.dll *.vb

When compiling from the command line, you must explicitly reference the Microsoft Visual Basic run-time library through the /reference compiler option.

See Also

Concepts

Conditional Compilation Overview

Other Resources

Visual Basic Compiler