Visual C++ Compiler Options

cl.exe is a tool that controls the Microsoft C and C++ compilers and
linker. cl.exe can be run only on operating systems that support
Microsoft Visual Studio.

Note:
You can start this tool only from the Visual Studio command prompt.
You cannot start it from a system command prompt or from Windows
Explorer.

The compilers produce Common Object File Format (COFF) object (.obj)
files. The linker produces executable (.exe) files or dynamic-link
libraries (DLLs).

Note that all compiler options are case sensitive.

To compile without linking, use /c.