On the subject of Visual C++...I installed Visual Studio 11 Dev Preview solely because I could. How the crap do I get VC++ to link libraries correctly? For the life of me, I could not find the right linker operation...which is stupid considering how easy it is from the command line... I historically do C++ development from Linux...I can handle a commandline so much better than an IDE, for the most part.
Assuming it works like VS10
1. Select project in the solution explorer window (usually on the left or right side of the screen).
2. In the menu bar up top: Project->Properties
3. In the menu system that pops up, Configuration Properties -> Linker -> Input
4. On this screen, click on the Additional Dependancies item and click the down arrow that appears to the right. Click "<Edit...>" from the down arrow menu. In the top half of the window that appears, type in the names of the libraries you will use ("xyz.lib", for example).
5. If your libraries aren't installed with Visual Studio, it likely can't find them.
6. On the same project property menu, go to Configuration Properties -> VC++ Directories
7. Click on the Include Directories, go into its menu, and add the directory path to the include directory for the library (has a browse for folder option)
8. Do the same for Library Directories, adding the library directory.
9. Click OK to save the property changes and close the properties window. Your project should now work.