Supported compilers to build PHP on Windows
Yes: this version is supported and we provide binaries built with this compiler
No: Not supported
| Product Name | 5.2.x | 5.3.x | 5.4.x | 5.5.x | 5.6.x | 7.0.x | 7.1.x | 7.2.x | 7.3.x | 7.4.x | 64bits (***) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual C++ 6 (SP6 only) | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Visual C++ 7/7.1 (2002, 2003, 2003+sp1) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Visual C++ 8 (2005) | Yes (**) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Visual C++ 9 (2008 SP1 only) | Yes (**) | Yes | Yes | Yes (**) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Visual C++ 11 (2012) | No | No | Yes (**) | Yes | Yes | Yes (**) | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Visual C++ 14.00 (2015) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes(**) | Yes(**) | No | No | Yes |
| Visual C++ 14.10 (2017) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes(**) | Yes(**) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Visual C++ 14.20 (2019) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes(**) | Yes(**) | Yes | Yes |
(*) May be dropped before the final release
(**) Not officially supported but known to work
(***) Supported for this given compiler according to the current official support (or known to work)
Windows Compiler Versions
Visual C++ 6.0 is part of Visual Studio 6.0
This is the “legacy” compiler for Windows products. PHP will continue to support it through version 5.3 PHP 6.0 is the current EOL for Visual Studio 6.0. To use Visual C++ 6.0 to compile PHP you MUST have service pack 6 installed.
Visual C++ 7.0 and 7.1 is part of Visual Studio 2002/2003
The Visual Studio this came with is also called Visual Studio .NET. This is not an officially supported compiler but is known to work. It is recommended that you use the 2003 version and apply SP1 or issues may occur.
Visual C++ 8.0 part of Visual Studio 2005
This compiler is not an officially supported compiler but is known to work. This is available as an “express” version as well, which is free to download and use. You MUST apply SP1 if you use this product, there are known issues.
Visual C++ 9.0 part of Visual Studio 2008
This compiler is officially supported. Applying Service Pack 1 is required. It is available as an “express” version which is free to download and use, the current Express Versions now have SP1 included.
Note
If you are creating your setup from scratch, then please read the following notice and blogs from Microsoft regarding an issue of installing the 6.1 SDK on top of VC9 SP1 :
Installing the 6.1 SDK before installing VC9SP1 is the recommended route. After that, any additional security patches or updates can be applied.
Visual C++ 11.0 part of Visual Studio 2012
This compiler is officially supported for PHP 5.5+. It is available as an “express” version which is free to download and use. There are multiple versions available, you will want the one called “Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Desktop”.
Visual C++ 14.00 part of Visual Studio 2015
This compiler is officially supported for PHP 7.0+. It is available as a Community Edition which is free to download and use for open source projects, academic research, training, education and small professional teams.
Visual C++ 14.10 part of Visual Studio 2017
This compiler is officially supported for PHP 7.2 and 7.3. It is available as a Community Edition which is free to download and use for open source projects, academic research, training, education and small professional teams.
Visual C++ 14.20 part of Visual Studio 2019
This compiler is officially supported for PHP 7.4+. It is available as a Community Edition which is free to download and use for open source projects, academic research, training, education and small professional teams.