static_vcruntime 3.0.0

Statically link the VCRuntime when using the MSVC toolchain.
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Statically link the VCRuntime while dynamically linking the UCRT.
This only applies when using the MSVC toolchain.

By default, Rust requires programs to deploy `vcruntime140.dll`
(or equivalent) when redistributing binaries.
You can use the `-C target-feature=+crt-static` rustc flag to statically link it
but that also statically links the Universal CRT.
The Universal CRT is a component of Windows so can always be dynamically linked.

See [Details] for more information.

# Usage

Add this to your `Cargo.toml`:

```toml
[build-dependencies]
static_vcruntime = "3.0"
```

And in your [build script]:

```rust,ignore
fn main() {
    static_vcruntime::metabuild();
}
```

For the best compatibility it is recommended that you also set the `target-feature` flag to `+crt-static`.
In the same directory as your Cargo.toml, create a folder called `.cargo`. In that folder create the file `config.toml` and add the following:

```toml
# In .cargo/config.toml
[target.'cfg(all(windows, target_env = "msvc"))']
rustflags = ["-C", "target-feature=+crt-static"]
```

# Details

What we call the "CRT" is actually three components:
- The C startup files. This provide startup/shutdown code.
- The VC runtime. In rust this is mainly used for panic handling but also provides some fundamental functions such as `memcpy`.
- The Universal CRT (aka UCRT). This is where most of the C standard library lives.

Each of these can be linked either dynamically or statically, however it is usually required that if one is linked statically then they are all linked statically (and ditto for dynamica linking).
There is one exceptions.
If the VC runtime and C startup files are linked statically then the UCRT can be linked dynamically.

The following table summarises these options:

|                    | C startup  | VC runtime | Universal CRT |
| ------------------ | ---------- | ---------- | ------------- |
| Default            | dynamic    | dynamic    | dynamic       |
| `+crt-static`      | static     | static     | static        |
| `static_vcruntime` | static     | static     | dynamic       |

# Issues

If you have problems then you may need to clean the build directory before rebuilding:

```text
cargo clean
```

It is possible that some C/C++ dependencies may not work in this configuration.

Note that Microsoft recommends all the runtime libraries be dynamically linked (which is the default).

[Details]: #details
[build script]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/build-scripts.html