Using different compiler in Visual Studio

Question

This maybe a beginner question but could not find proper answer on the internet. I am curious can I use some other compiler (which I like) in Visual Studio 10?

Answer 1

As of Visual Studio 2010, it is conceptually possible to integrate another compiler. In the book ‘Inside the Microsoft Build Engine, Using MSBuild and Team Foundation Buid’ 2nd edition, on page 338, the chapter ‘Adding a New Platform and Platform Toolset’ the process of adding gcc to visual studio is explained.

However, while it is possible, it has always remained as a concept. To my awareness, nobody has actually been up to the task and publicly disclosed the results. But even with this support, you'd still be lacking debugging facilities. Which would require your compiler of choice to generate .pdb files and/or extend visual studio with a new local debugger

In summary it's quite a venture