diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f54a7ef5..28a82555 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ build
 demos/*/build*
 playground/*/build*
 .waf-*
+waf-*
 .waf3-*
+waf3-*
 *.log
 .DS_Store
 .AppleDouble
@@ -37,3 +39,9 @@ Temporary Items
 
 # Windows build output
 waf.bat
+
+# Vim temporary files
+*.swp
+
+# YouCompleteMe configuration
+.ycm_extra_conf.py
diff --git a/playground/msvc/test.c b/playground/msvc/test.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9476f106
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playground/msvc/test.c
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#include <stdio.h>
+
+int main(int argc, char** argv)
+{
+	(void)argc;
+	(void)argv;
+
+	puts("This is a simple test program.\n");
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/playground/msvc/wscript b/playground/msvc/wscript
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18c40c26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playground/msvc/wscript
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+# encoding: utf-8
+
+top = '.'
+out = 'build'
+
+def options(opt):
+	opt.load('msvc')
+
+def configure(cfg):
+	cfg.load('msvc')
+	cfg.load('msvc_pdb')
+	cfg.env.append_value('CFLAGS','/Zi')
+	cfg.env.append_value('LDFLAGS','/DEBUG')
+
+def build(bld):
+	bld.program(
+		name='test',
+		source=['test.c'],
+		target='test',
+		use='CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL')
diff --git a/waflib/Tools/msvc.py b/waflib/Tools/msvc.py
index a8dbbc09..e7bfeb18 100644
--- a/waflib/Tools/msvc.py
+++ b/waflib/Tools/msvc.py
@@ -55,366 +55,14 @@ cmd.exe  /C  "chcp 1252 & set PYTHONUNBUFFERED=true && set && waf  configure"
 Setting PYTHONUNBUFFERED gives the unbuffered output.
 """
 
-import os, sys, re, traceback
-from waflib import Utils, Logs, Options, Errors
-from waflib.TaskGen import after_method, feature
+import os, re
+from waflib import Utils, Logs
 
 from waflib.Configure import conf
-from waflib.Tools import ccroot, c, cxx, ar
-
-g_msvc_systemlibs = '''
-aclui activeds ad1 adptif adsiid advapi32 asycfilt authz bhsupp bits bufferoverflowu cabinet
-cap certadm certidl ciuuid clusapi comctl32 comdlg32 comsupp comsuppd comsuppw comsuppwd comsvcs
-credui crypt32 cryptnet cryptui d3d8thk daouuid dbgeng dbghelp dciman32 ddao35 ddao35d
-ddao35u ddao35ud delayimp dhcpcsvc dhcpsapi dlcapi dnsapi dsprop dsuiext dtchelp
-faultrep fcachdll fci fdi framedyd framedyn gdi32 gdiplus glauxglu32 gpedit gpmuuid
-gtrts32w gtrtst32hlink htmlhelp httpapi icm32 icmui imagehlp imm32 iphlpapi iprop
-kernel32 ksguid ksproxy ksuser libcmt libcmtd libcpmt libcpmtd loadperf lz32 mapi
-mapi32 mgmtapi minidump mmc mobsync mpr mprapi mqoa mqrt msacm32 mscms mscoree
-msdasc msimg32 msrating mstask msvcmrt msvcurt msvcurtd mswsock msxml2 mtx mtxdm
-netapi32 nmapinmsupp npptools ntdsapi ntdsbcli ntmsapi ntquery odbc32 odbcbcp
-odbccp32 oldnames ole32 oleacc oleaut32 oledb oledlgolepro32 opends60 opengl32
-osptk parser pdh penter pgobootrun pgort powrprof psapi ptrustm ptrustmd ptrustu
-ptrustud qosname rasapi32 rasdlg rassapi resutils riched20 rpcndr rpcns4 rpcrt4 rtm
-rtutils runtmchk scarddlg scrnsave scrnsavw secur32 sensapi setupapi sfc shell32
-shfolder shlwapi sisbkup snmpapi sporder srclient sti strsafe svcguid tapi32 thunk32
-traffic unicows url urlmon user32 userenv usp10 uuid uxtheme vcomp vcompd vdmdbg
-version vfw32 wbemuuid  webpost wiaguid wininet winmm winscard winspool winstrm
-wintrust wldap32 wmiutils wow32 ws2_32 wsnmp32 wsock32 wst wtsapi32 xaswitch xolehlp
-'''.split()
-"""importlibs provided by MSVC/Platform SDK. Do NOT search them"""
-
-all_msvc_platforms = [	('x64', 'amd64'), ('x86', 'x86'), ('ia64', 'ia64'),
-						('x86_amd64', 'amd64'), ('x86_ia64', 'ia64'), ('x86_arm', 'arm'), ('x86_arm64', 'arm64'),
-						('amd64_x86', 'x86'), ('amd64_arm', 'arm'), ('amd64_arm64', 'arm64') ]
-"""List of msvc platforms"""
-
-all_icl_platforms = [ ('intel64', 'amd64'), ('em64t', 'amd64'), ('ia32', 'x86'), ('Itanium', 'ia64')]
-"""List of icl platforms"""
+from waflib.Tools import ccroot, c, cxx, ar, msvc_common
 
 def options(opt):
-	opt.add_option('--msvc_version', type='string', help = 'msvc version, eg: "msvc 10.0,msvc 9.0"', default='')
-	opt.add_option('--msvc_targets', type='string', help = 'msvc targets, eg: "x64,arm"', default='')
-	opt.add_option('--no-msvc-lazy', action='store_false', help = 'lazily check msvc target environments', default=True, dest='msvc_lazy')
-
-@conf
-def setup_msvc(conf, versiondict):
-	"""
-	Checks installed compilers and targets and returns the first combination from the user's
-	options, env, or the global supported lists that checks.
-
-	:param versiondict: dict(platform -> dict(architecture -> configuration))
-	:type versiondict: dict(string -> dict(string -> target_compiler)
-	:return: the compiler, revision, path, include dirs, library paths and target architecture
-	:rtype: tuple of strings
-	"""
-	platforms = getattr(Options.options, 'msvc_targets', '').split(',')
-	if platforms == ['']:
-		platforms=Utils.to_list(conf.env.MSVC_TARGETS) or [i for i,j in all_msvc_platforms + all_icl_platforms]
-	desired_versions = getattr(Options.options, 'msvc_version', '').split(',')
-	if desired_versions == ['']:
-		desired_versions = conf.env.MSVC_VERSIONS or list(reversed(sorted(versiondict.keys())))
-
-	# Override lazy detection by evaluating after the fact.
-	lazy_detect = getattr(Options.options, 'msvc_lazy', True)
-	if conf.env.MSVC_LAZY_AUTODETECT is False:
-		lazy_detect = False
-
-	if not lazy_detect:
-		for val in versiondict.values():
-			for arch in list(val.keys()):
-				cfg = val[arch]
-				cfg.evaluate()
-				if not cfg.is_valid:
-					del val[arch]
-		conf.env.MSVC_INSTALLED_VERSIONS = versiondict
-
-	for version in desired_versions:
-		Logs.debug('msvc: detecting %r - %r', version, desired_versions)
-		try:
-			targets = versiondict[version]
-		except KeyError:
-			continue
-
-		seen = set()
-		for arch in platforms:
-			if arch in seen:
-				continue
-			else:
-				seen.add(arch)
-			try:
-				cfg = targets[arch]
-			except KeyError:
-				continue
-
-			cfg.evaluate()
-			if cfg.is_valid:
-				compiler,revision = version.rsplit(' ', 1)
-				return compiler,revision,cfg.bindirs,cfg.incdirs,cfg.libdirs,cfg.cpu
-	conf.fatal('msvc: Impossible to find a valid architecture for building %r - %r' % (desired_versions, list(versiondict.keys())))
-
-@conf
-def get_msvc_version(conf, compiler, version, target, vcvars):
-	"""
-	Checks that an installed compiler actually runs and uses vcvars to obtain the
-	environment needed by the compiler.
-
-	:param compiler: compiler type, for looking up the executable name
-	:param version: compiler version, for debugging only
-	:param target: target architecture
-	:param vcvars: batch file to run to check the environment
-	:return: the location of the compiler executable, the location of include dirs, and the library paths
-	:rtype: tuple of strings
-	"""
-	Logs.debug('msvc: get_msvc_version: %r %r %r', compiler, version, target)
-
-	try:
-		conf.msvc_cnt += 1
-	except AttributeError:
-		conf.msvc_cnt = 1
-	batfile = conf.bldnode.make_node('waf-print-msvc-%d.bat' % conf.msvc_cnt)
-	batfile.write("""@echo off
-set INCLUDE=
-set LIB=
-call "%s" %s
-echo PATH=%%PATH%%
-echo INCLUDE=%%INCLUDE%%
-echo LIB=%%LIB%%;%%LIBPATH%%
-""" % (vcvars,target))
-	sout = conf.cmd_and_log(['cmd.exe', '/E:on', '/V:on', '/C', batfile.abspath()])
-	lines = sout.splitlines()
-
-	if not lines[0]:
-		lines.pop(0)
-
-	MSVC_PATH = MSVC_INCDIR = MSVC_LIBDIR = None
-	for line in lines:
-		if line.startswith('PATH='):
-			path = line[5:]
-			MSVC_PATH = path.split(';')
-		elif line.startswith('INCLUDE='):
-			MSVC_INCDIR = [i for i in line[8:].split(';') if i]
-		elif line.startswith('LIB='):
-			MSVC_LIBDIR = [i for i in line[4:].split(';') if i]
-	if None in (MSVC_PATH, MSVC_INCDIR, MSVC_LIBDIR):
-		conf.fatal('msvc: Could not find a valid architecture for building (get_msvc_version_3)')
-
-	# Check if the compiler is usable at all.
-	# The detection may return 64-bit versions even on 32-bit systems, and these would fail to run.
-	env = dict(os.environ)
-	env.update(PATH = path)
-	compiler_name, linker_name, lib_name = _get_prog_names(conf, compiler)
-	cxx = conf.find_program(compiler_name, path_list=MSVC_PATH)
-
-	# delete CL if exists. because it could contain parameters which can change cl's behaviour rather catastrophically.
-	if 'CL' in env:
-		del(env['CL'])
-
-	try:
-		conf.cmd_and_log(cxx + ['/help'], env=env)
-	except UnicodeError:
-		st = traceback.format_exc()
-		if conf.logger:
-			conf.logger.error(st)
-		conf.fatal('msvc: Unicode error - check the code page?')
-	except Exception as e:
-		Logs.debug('msvc: get_msvc_version: %r %r %r -> failure %s', compiler, version, target, str(e))
-		conf.fatal('msvc: cannot run the compiler in get_msvc_version (run with -v to display errors)')
-	else:
-		Logs.debug('msvc: get_msvc_version: %r %r %r -> OK', compiler, version, target)
-	finally:
-		conf.env[compiler_name] = ''
-
-	return (MSVC_PATH, MSVC_INCDIR, MSVC_LIBDIR)
-
-def gather_msvc_detected_versions():
-	#Detected MSVC versions!
-	version_pattern = re.compile(r'^(\d\d?\.\d\d?)(Exp)?$')
-	detected_versions = []
-	for vcver,vcvar in (('VCExpress','Exp'), ('VisualStudio','')):
-		prefix = 'SOFTWARE\\Wow6432node\\Microsoft\\' + vcver
-		try:
-			all_versions = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, prefix)
-		except OSError:
-			prefix = 'SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\' + vcver
-			try:
-				all_versions = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, prefix)
-			except OSError:
-				continue
-
-		index = 0
-		while 1:
-			try:
-				version = Utils.winreg.EnumKey(all_versions, index)
-			except OSError:
-				break
-			index += 1
-			match = version_pattern.match(version)
-			if match:
-				versionnumber = float(match.group(1))
-			else:
-				continue
-			detected_versions.append((versionnumber, version+vcvar, prefix+'\\'+version))
-	def fun(tup):
-		return tup[0]
-
-	detected_versions.sort(key = fun)
-	return detected_versions
-
-class target_compiler(object):
-	"""
-	Wrap a compiler configuration; call evaluate() to determine
-	whether the configuration is usable.
-	"""
-	def __init__(self, ctx, compiler, cpu, version, bat_target, bat, callback=None):
-		"""
-		:param ctx: configuration context to use to eventually get the version environment
-		:param compiler: compiler name
-		:param cpu: target cpu
-		:param version: compiler version number
-		:param bat_target: ?
-		:param bat: path to the batch file to run
-		"""
-		self.conf = ctx
-		self.name = None
-		self.is_valid = False
-		self.is_done = False
-
-		self.compiler = compiler
-		self.cpu = cpu
-		self.version = version
-		self.bat_target = bat_target
-		self.bat = bat
-		self.callback = callback
-
-	def evaluate(self):
-		if self.is_done:
-			return
-		self.is_done = True
-		try:
-			vs = self.conf.get_msvc_version(self.compiler, self.version, self.bat_target, self.bat)
-		except Errors.ConfigurationError:
-			self.is_valid = False
-			return
-		if self.callback:
-			vs = self.callback(self, vs)
-		self.is_valid = True
-		(self.bindirs, self.incdirs, self.libdirs) = vs
-
-	def __str__(self):
-		return str((self.compiler, self.cpu, self.version, self.bat_target, self.bat))
-
-	def __repr__(self):
-		return repr((self.compiler, self.cpu, self.version, self.bat_target, self.bat))
-
-@conf
-def gather_wsdk_versions(conf, versions):
-	"""
-	Use winreg to add the msvc versions to the input list
-
-	:param versions: list to modify
-	:type versions: list
-	"""
-	version_pattern = re.compile(r'^v..?.?\...?.?')
-	try:
-		all_versions = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, 'SOFTWARE\\Wow6432node\\Microsoft\\Microsoft SDKs\\Windows')
-	except OSError:
-		try:
-			all_versions = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, 'SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Microsoft SDKs\\Windows')
-		except OSError:
-			return
-	index = 0
-	while 1:
-		try:
-			version = Utils.winreg.EnumKey(all_versions, index)
-		except OSError:
-			break
-		index += 1
-		if not version_pattern.match(version):
-			continue
-		try:
-			msvc_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(all_versions, version)
-			path,type = Utils.winreg.QueryValueEx(msvc_version,'InstallationFolder')
-		except OSError:
-			continue
-		if path and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(path, 'bin', 'SetEnv.cmd')):
-			targets = {}
-			for target,arch in all_msvc_platforms:
-				targets[target] = target_compiler(conf, 'wsdk', arch, version, '/'+target, os.path.join(path, 'bin', 'SetEnv.cmd'))
-			versions['wsdk ' + version[1:]] = targets
-
-@conf
-def gather_msvc_targets(conf, versions, version, vc_path):
-	#Looking for normal MSVC compilers!
-	targets = {}
-
-	if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(vc_path, 'VC', 'Auxiliary', 'Build', 'vcvarsall.bat')):
-		for target,realtarget in all_msvc_platforms[::-1]:
-			targets[target] = target_compiler(conf, 'msvc', realtarget, version, target, os.path.join(vc_path, 'VC', 'Auxiliary', 'Build', 'vcvarsall.bat'))
-	elif os.path.isfile(os.path.join(vc_path, 'vcvarsall.bat')):
-		for target,realtarget in all_msvc_platforms[::-1]:
-			targets[target] = target_compiler(conf, 'msvc', realtarget, version, target, os.path.join(vc_path, 'vcvarsall.bat'))
-	elif os.path.isfile(os.path.join(vc_path, 'Common7', 'Tools', 'vsvars32.bat')):
-		targets['x86'] = target_compiler(conf, 'msvc', 'x86', version, 'x86', os.path.join(vc_path, 'Common7', 'Tools', 'vsvars32.bat'))
-	elif os.path.isfile(os.path.join(vc_path, 'Bin', 'vcvars32.bat')):
-		targets['x86'] = target_compiler(conf, 'msvc', 'x86', version, '', os.path.join(vc_path, 'Bin', 'vcvars32.bat'))
-	if targets:
-		versions['msvc %s' % version] = targets
-
-@conf
-def gather_vswhere_versions(conf, versions):
-	try:
-		import json
-	except ImportError:
-		Logs.error('Visual Studio 2017 detection requires Python 2.6')
-		return
-
-	prg_path = os.environ.get('ProgramFiles(x86)', os.environ.get('ProgramFiles', 'C:\\Program Files (x86)'))
-
-	vswhere = os.path.join(prg_path, 'Microsoft Visual Studio', 'Installer', 'vswhere.exe')
-	args = [vswhere, '-products', '*', '-legacy', '-format', 'json']
-	try:
-		txt = conf.cmd_and_log(args)
-	except Errors.WafError as e:
-		Logs.debug('msvc: vswhere.exe failed %s', e)
-		return
-
-	if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
-		txt = txt.decode(Utils.console_encoding())
-
-	arr = json.loads(txt)
-	arr.sort(key=lambda x: x['installationVersion'])
-	for entry in arr:
-		ver = entry['installationVersion']
-		ver = str('.'.join(ver.split('.')[:2]))
-		path = str(os.path.abspath(entry['installationPath']))
-		if os.path.exists(path) and ('msvc %s' % ver) not in versions:
-			conf.gather_msvc_targets(versions, ver, path)
-
-@conf
-def gather_msvc_versions(conf, versions):
-	vc_paths = []
-	for (v,version,reg) in gather_msvc_detected_versions():
-		try:
-			try:
-				msvc_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, reg + "\\Setup\\VC")
-			except OSError:
-				msvc_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, reg + "\\Setup\\Microsoft Visual C++")
-			path,type = Utils.winreg.QueryValueEx(msvc_version, 'ProductDir')
-		except OSError:
-			try:
-				msvc_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\\Wow6432node\\Microsoft\\VisualStudio\\SxS\\VS7")
-				path,type = Utils.winreg.QueryValueEx(msvc_version, version)
-			except OSError:
-				continue
-			else:
-				vc_paths.append((version, os.path.abspath(str(path))))
-			continue
-		else:
-			vc_paths.append((version, os.path.abspath(str(path))))
-
-	for version,vc_path in vc_paths:
-		conf.gather_msvc_targets(versions, version, vc_path)
+	msvc_common.options(opt)
 
 @conf
 def gather_icl_versions(conf, versions):
@@ -442,7 +90,7 @@ def gather_icl_versions(conf, versions):
 		if not version_pattern.match(version):
 			continue
 		targets = {}
-		for target,arch in all_icl_platforms:
+		for target,arch in msvc_common.all_icl_platforms:
 			if target=='intel64':
 				targetDir='EM64T_NATIVE'
 			else:
@@ -457,7 +105,7 @@ def gather_icl_versions(conf, versions):
 				batch_file=os.path.join(path,'bin','iclvars.bat')
 				if os.path.isfile(batch_file):
 					targets[target] = target_compiler(conf, 'intel', arch, version, target, batch_file)
-		for target,arch in all_icl_platforms:
+		for target,arch in msvc_common.all_icl_platforms:
 			try:
 				icl_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(all_versions, version+'\\'+target)
 				path,type = Utils.winreg.QueryValueEx(icl_version,'ProductDir')
@@ -496,7 +144,7 @@ def gather_intel_composer_versions(conf, versions):
 		if not version_pattern.match(version):
 			continue
 		targets = {}
-		for target,arch in all_icl_platforms:
+		for target,arch in msvc_common.all_icl_platforms:
 			if target=='intel64':
 				targetDir='EM64T_NATIVE'
 			else:
@@ -540,11 +188,7 @@ def gather_intel_composer_versions(conf, versions):
 		versions['intel ' + major] = targets
 
 @conf
-def detect_msvc(self):
-	return self.setup_msvc(self.get_msvc_versions())
-
-@conf
-def get_msvc_versions(self):
+def get_icl_versions(self):
 	"""
 	:return: platform to compiler configurations
 	:rtype: dict
@@ -552,133 +196,13 @@ def get_msvc_versions(self):
 	dct = Utils.ordered_iter_dict()
 	self.gather_icl_versions(dct)
 	self.gather_intel_composer_versions(dct)
-	self.gather_wsdk_versions(dct)
-	self.gather_msvc_versions(dct)
-	self.gather_vswhere_versions(dct)
-	Logs.debug('msvc: detected versions %r', list(dct.keys()))
 	return dct
 
-@conf
-def find_lt_names_msvc(self, libname, is_static=False):
-	"""
-	Win32/MSVC specific code to glean out information from libtool la files.
-	this function is not attached to the task_gen class. Returns a triplet:
-	(library absolute path, library name without extension, whether the library is static)
-	"""
-	lt_names=[
-		'lib%s.la' % libname,
-		'%s.la' % libname,
-	]
-
-	for path in self.env.LIBPATH:
-		for la in lt_names:
-			laf=os.path.join(path,la)
-			dll=None
-			if os.path.exists(laf):
-				ltdict = Utils.read_la_file(laf)
-				lt_libdir=None
-				if ltdict.get('libdir', ''):
-					lt_libdir = ltdict['libdir']
-				if not is_static and ltdict.get('library_names', ''):
-					dllnames=ltdict['library_names'].split()
-					dll=dllnames[0].lower()
-					dll=re.sub(r'\.dll$', '', dll)
-					return (lt_libdir, dll, False)
-				elif ltdict.get('old_library', ''):
-					olib=ltdict['old_library']
-					if os.path.exists(os.path.join(path,olib)):
-						return (path, olib, True)
-					elif lt_libdir != '' and os.path.exists(os.path.join(lt_libdir,olib)):
-						return (lt_libdir, olib, True)
-					else:
-						return (None, olib, True)
-				else:
-					raise self.errors.WafError('invalid libtool object file: %s' % laf)
-	return (None, None, None)
-
-@conf
-def libname_msvc(self, libname, is_static=False):
-	lib = libname.lower()
-	lib = re.sub(r'\.lib$','',lib)
-
-	if lib in g_msvc_systemlibs:
-		return lib
-
-	lib=re.sub('^lib','',lib)
-
-	if lib == 'm':
-		return None
-
-	(lt_path, lt_libname, lt_static) = self.find_lt_names_msvc(lib, is_static)
-
-	if lt_path != None and lt_libname != None:
-		if lt_static:
-			# file existence check has been made by find_lt_names
-			return os.path.join(lt_path,lt_libname)
-
-	if lt_path != None:
-		_libpaths = [lt_path] + self.env.LIBPATH
-	else:
-		_libpaths = self.env.LIBPATH
-
-	static_libs=[
-		'lib%ss.lib' % lib,
-		'lib%s.lib' % lib,
-		'%ss.lib' % lib,
-		'%s.lib' %lib,
-		]
-
-	dynamic_libs=[
-		'lib%s.dll.lib' % lib,
-		'lib%s.dll.a' % lib,
-		'%s.dll.lib' % lib,
-		'%s.dll.a' % lib,
-		'lib%s_d.lib' % lib,
-		'%s_d.lib' % lib,
-		'%s.lib' %lib,
-		]
-
-	libnames=static_libs
-	if not is_static:
-		libnames=dynamic_libs + static_libs
-
-	for path in _libpaths:
-		for libn in libnames:
-			if os.path.exists(os.path.join(path, libn)):
-				Logs.debug('msvc: lib found: %s', os.path.join(path,libn))
-				return re.sub(r'\.lib$', '',libn)
-
-	#if no lib can be found, just return the libname as msvc expects it
-	self.fatal('The library %r could not be found' % libname)
-	return re.sub(r'\.lib$', '', libname)
-
-@conf
-def check_lib_msvc(self, libname, is_static=False, uselib_store=None):
-	"""
-	Ideally we should be able to place the lib in the right env var, either STLIB or LIB,
-	but we don't distinguish static libs from shared libs.
-	This is ok since msvc doesn't have any special linker flag to select static libs (no env.STLIB_MARKER)
-	"""
-	libn = self.libname_msvc(libname, is_static)
-
-	if not uselib_store:
-		uselib_store = libname.upper()
-
-	if False and is_static: # disabled
-		self.env['STLIB_' + uselib_store] = [libn]
-	else:
-		self.env['LIB_' + uselib_store] = [libn]
-
-@conf
-def check_libs_msvc(self, libnames, is_static=False):
-	for libname in Utils.to_list(libnames):
-		self.check_lib_msvc(libname, is_static)
-
 def configure(conf):
 	"""
 	Configuration methods to call for detecting msvc
 	"""
-	conf.autodetect(True)
+	conf.autodetect(True, get_icl_versions)
 	conf.find_msvc()
 	conf.msvc_common_flags()
 	conf.cc_load_tools()
@@ -692,203 +216,3 @@ def configure(conf):
 def no_autodetect(conf):
 	conf.env.NO_MSVC_DETECT = 1
 	configure(conf)
-
-@conf
-def autodetect(conf, arch=False):
-	v = conf.env
-	if v.NO_MSVC_DETECT:
-		return
-
-	compiler, version, path, includes, libdirs, cpu = conf.detect_msvc()
-	if arch:
-		v.DEST_CPU = cpu
-
-	v.PATH = path
-	v.INCLUDES = includes
-	v.LIBPATH = libdirs
-	v.MSVC_COMPILER = compiler
-	try:
-		v.MSVC_VERSION = float(version)
-	except ValueError:
-		v.MSVC_VERSION = float(version[:-3])
-
-def _get_prog_names(conf, compiler):
-	if compiler == 'intel':
-		compiler_name = 'ICL'
-		linker_name = 'XILINK'
-		lib_name = 'XILIB'
-	else:
-		# assumes CL.exe
-		compiler_name = 'CL'
-		linker_name = 'LINK'
-		lib_name = 'LIB'
-	return compiler_name, linker_name, lib_name
-
-@conf
-def find_msvc(conf):
-	"""Due to path format limitations, limit operation only to native Win32. Yeah it sucks."""
-	if sys.platform == 'cygwin':
-		conf.fatal('MSVC module does not work under cygwin Python!')
-
-	# the autodetection is supposed to be performed before entering in this method
-	v = conf.env
-	path = v.PATH
-	compiler = v.MSVC_COMPILER
-	version = v.MSVC_VERSION
-
-	compiler_name, linker_name, lib_name = _get_prog_names(conf, compiler)
-	v.MSVC_MANIFEST = (compiler == 'msvc' and version >= 8) or (compiler == 'wsdk' and version >= 6) or (compiler == 'intel' and version >= 11)
-
-	# compiler
-	cxx = conf.find_program(compiler_name, var='CXX', path_list=path)
-
-	# before setting anything, check if the compiler is really msvc
-	env = dict(conf.environ)
-	if path:
-		env.update(PATH = ';'.join(path))
-	if not conf.cmd_and_log(cxx + ['/nologo', '/help'], env=env):
-		conf.fatal('the msvc compiler could not be identified')
-
-	# c/c++ compiler
-	v.CC = v.CXX = cxx
-	v.CC_NAME = v.CXX_NAME = 'msvc'
-
-	# linker
-	if not v.LINK_CXX:
-		conf.find_program(linker_name, path_list=path, errmsg='%s was not found (linker)' % linker_name, var='LINK_CXX')
-
-	if not v.LINK_CC:
-		v.LINK_CC = v.LINK_CXX
-
-	# staticlib linker
-	if not v.AR:
-		stliblink = conf.find_program(lib_name, path_list=path, var='AR')
-		if not stliblink:
-			return
-		v.ARFLAGS = ['/nologo']
-
-	# manifest tool. Not required for VS 2003 and below. Must have for VS 2005 and later
-	if v.MSVC_MANIFEST:
-		conf.find_program('MT', path_list=path, var='MT')
-		v.MTFLAGS = ['/nologo']
-
-	try:
-		conf.load('winres')
-	except Errors.ConfigurationError:
-		Logs.warn('Resource compiler not found. Compiling resource file is disabled')
-
-@conf
-def visual_studio_add_flags(self):
-	"""visual studio flags found in the system environment"""
-	v = self.env
-	if self.environ.get('INCLUDE'):
-		v.prepend_value('INCLUDES', [x for x in self.environ['INCLUDE'].split(';') if x]) # notice the 'S'
-	if self.environ.get('LIB'):
-		v.prepend_value('LIBPATH', [x for x in self.environ['LIB'].split(';') if x])
-
-@conf
-def msvc_common_flags(conf):
-	"""
-	Setup the flags required for executing the msvc compiler
-	"""
-	v = conf.env
-
-	v.DEST_BINFMT = 'pe'
-	v.append_value('CFLAGS', ['/nologo'])
-	v.append_value('CXXFLAGS', ['/nologo'])
-	v.append_value('LINKFLAGS', ['/nologo'])
-	v.DEFINES_ST   = '/D%s'
-
-	v.CC_SRC_F     = ''
-	v.CC_TGT_F     = ['/c', '/Fo']
-	v.CXX_SRC_F    = ''
-	v.CXX_TGT_F    = ['/c', '/Fo']
-
-	if (v.MSVC_COMPILER == 'msvc' and v.MSVC_VERSION >= 8) or (v.MSVC_COMPILER == 'wsdk' and v.MSVC_VERSION >= 6):
-		v.CC_TGT_F = ['/FC'] + v.CC_TGT_F
-		v.CXX_TGT_F = ['/FC'] + v.CXX_TGT_F
-
-	v.CPPPATH_ST = '/I%s' # template for adding include paths
-
-	v.AR_TGT_F = v.CCLNK_TGT_F = v.CXXLNK_TGT_F = '/OUT:'
-
-	# CRT specific flags
-	v.CFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED     = v.CXXFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED     = ['/MT']
-	v.CFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL = v.CXXFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL = ['/MD']
-
-	v.CFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DBG     = v.CXXFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DBG     = ['/MTd']
-	v.CFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL_DBG = v.CXXFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL_DBG = ['/MDd']
-
-	v.LIB_ST            = '%s.lib'
-	v.LIBPATH_ST        = '/LIBPATH:%s'
-	v.STLIB_ST          = '%s.lib'
-	v.STLIBPATH_ST      = '/LIBPATH:%s'
-
-	if v.MSVC_MANIFEST:
-		v.append_value('LINKFLAGS', ['/MANIFEST'])
-
-	v.CFLAGS_cshlib     = []
-	v.CXXFLAGS_cxxshlib = []
-	v.LINKFLAGS_cshlib  = v.LINKFLAGS_cxxshlib = ['/DLL']
-	v.cshlib_PATTERN    = v.cxxshlib_PATTERN = '%s.dll'
-	v.implib_PATTERN    = '%s.lib'
-	v.IMPLIB_ST         = '/IMPLIB:%s'
-
-	v.LINKFLAGS_cstlib  = []
-	v.cstlib_PATTERN    = v.cxxstlib_PATTERN = '%s.lib'
-
-	v.cprogram_PATTERN  = v.cxxprogram_PATTERN = '%s.exe'
-
-	v.def_PATTERN       = '/def:%s'
-
-
-#######################################################################################################
-##### conf above, build below
-
-@after_method('apply_link')
-@feature('c', 'cxx')
-def apply_flags_msvc(self):
-	"""
-	Add additional flags implied by msvc, such as subsystems and pdb files::
-
-		def build(bld):
-			bld.stlib(source='main.c', target='bar', subsystem='gruik')
-	"""
-	if self.env.CC_NAME != 'msvc' or not getattr(self, 'link_task', None):
-		return
-
-	is_static = isinstance(self.link_task, ccroot.stlink_task)
-
-	subsystem = getattr(self, 'subsystem', '')
-	if subsystem:
-		subsystem = '/subsystem:%s' % subsystem
-		flags = is_static and 'ARFLAGS' or 'LINKFLAGS'
-		self.env.append_value(flags, subsystem)
-
-	if not is_static:
-		for f in self.env.LINKFLAGS:
-			d = f.lower()
-			if d[1:] in ('debug', 'debug:full', 'debug:fastlink'):
-				pdbnode = self.link_task.outputs[0].change_ext('.pdb')
-				self.link_task.outputs.append(pdbnode)
-
-				if getattr(self, 'install_task', None):
-					self.pdb_install_task = self.add_install_files(
-						install_to=self.install_task.install_to, install_from=pdbnode)
-				break
-
-@feature('cprogram', 'cshlib', 'cxxprogram', 'cxxshlib')
-@after_method('apply_link')
-def apply_manifest(self):
-	"""
-	Special linker for MSVC with support for embedding manifests into DLL's
-	and executables compiled by Visual Studio 2005 or probably later. Without
-	the manifest file, the binaries are unusable.
-	See: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms235542(VS.80).aspx
-	"""
-	if self.env.CC_NAME == 'msvc' and self.env.MSVC_MANIFEST and getattr(self, 'link_task', None):
-		out_node = self.link_task.outputs[0]
-		man_node = out_node.parent.find_or_declare(out_node.name + '.manifest')
-		self.link_task.outputs.append(man_node)
-		self.env.DO_MANIFEST = True
-
diff --git a/waflib/Tools/msvc_common.py b/waflib/Tools/msvc_common.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f0d2345e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/waflib/Tools/msvc_common.py
@@ -0,0 +1,841 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+# encoding: utf-8
+# Rafaël Kooi, 2019
+
+"""
+Reusable routines earlier found in msvc.py that are reused by
+Tools/extra/clang_cl.py
+"""
+
+import os, sys, re, traceback
+from waflib import Utils, Logs, Options, Errors
+from waflib.TaskGen import after_method, feature
+
+from waflib.Configure import conf
+from waflib.Tools import ccroot, c, cxx, ar
+
+g_msvc_systemlibs = '''
+aclui activeds ad1 adptif adsiid advapi32 asycfilt authz bhsupp bits
+bufferoverflowu cabinet cap certadm certidl ciuuid clusapi comctl32 comdlg32
+comsupp comsuppd comsuppw comsuppwd comsvcs credui crypt32 cryptnet cryptui
+d3d8thk daouuid dbgeng dbghelp dciman32 ddao35 ddao35d ddao35u ddao35ud
+delayimp dhcpcsvc dhcpsapi dlcapi dnsapi dsprop dsuiext dtchelp faultrep
+fcachdll fci fdi framedyd framedyn gdi32 gdiplus glauxglu32 gpedit gpmuuid
+gtrts32w gtrtst32hlink htmlhelp httpapi icm32 icmui imagehlp imm32 iphlpapi
+iprop kernel32 ksguid ksproxy ksuser libcmt libcmtd libcpmt libcpmtd loadperf
+lz32 mapi mapi32 mgmtapi minidump mmc mobsync mpr mprapi mqoa mqrt msacm32
+mscms mscoree msdasc msimg32 msrating mstask msvcmrt msvcurt msvcurtd mswsock
+msxml2 mtx mtxdm netapi32 nmapinmsupp npptools ntdsapi ntdsbcli ntmsapi ntquery
+odbc32 odbcbcp odbccp32 oldnames ole32 oleacc oleaut32 oledb oledlgolepro32
+opends60 opengl32 osptk parser pdh penter pgobootrun pgort powrprof psapi
+ptrustm ptrustmd ptrustu ptrustud qosname rasapi32 rasdlg rassapi resutils
+riched20 rpcndr rpcns4 rpcrt4 rtm rtutils runtmchk scarddlg scrnsave scrnsavw
+secur32 sensapi setupapi sfc shell32 shfolder shlwapi sisbkup snmpapi sporder
+srclient sti strsafe svcguid tapi32 thunk32 traffic unicows url urlmon user32
+userenv usp10 uuid uxtheme vcomp vcompd vdmdbg version vfw32 wbemuuid  webpost
+wiaguid wininet winmm winscard winspool winstrm wintrust wldap32 wmiutils wow32
+ws2_32 wsnmp32 wsock32 wst wtsapi32 xaswitch xolehlp
+'''.split()
+"""importlibs provided by MSVC/Platform SDK. Do NOT search them"""
+
+all_msvc_platforms = [
+	('x64', 'amd64'),
+	('x86', 'x86'),
+	('ia64', 'ia64'),
+	('x86_amd64', 'amd64'),
+	('x86_ia64', 'ia64'),
+	('x86_arm', 'arm'),
+	('x86_arm64', 'arm64'),
+	('amd64_x86', 'x86'),
+	('amd64_arm', 'arm'),
+	('amd64_arm64', 'arm64')
+]
+"""List of msvc platforms"""
+
+all_icl_platforms = [
+	('intel64', 'amd64'),
+	('em64t', 'amd64'),
+	('ia32', 'x86'),
+	('Itanium', 'ia64')
+]
+"""List of icl platforms"""
+
+def options(opt):
+	opt.add_option( \
+		'--msvc_version', \
+		type='string', \
+		help = 'msvc version, eg: "msvc 10.0,msvc 9.0"', \
+		default='')
+
+	opt.add_option( \
+		'--msvc_targets', \
+		type='string', \
+		help = 'msvc targets, eg: "x64,arm"', \
+		default='')
+
+	opt.add_option( \
+		'--no-msvc-lazy', \
+		action='store_false', \
+		help = 'lazily check msvc target environments', \
+		default=True, \
+		dest='msvc_lazy')
+
+@conf
+def gather_wsdk_versions(conf, versions):
+	"""
+	Use winreg to add the msvc versions to the input list
+
+	:param versions: list to modify
+	:type versions: list
+	"""
+	version_pattern = re.compile(r'^v..?.?\...?.?')
+	try:
+		all_versions = Utils.winreg.OpenKey( \
+			Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, \
+			'SOFTWARE\\Wow6432node\\Microsoft\\Microsoft SDKs\\Windows')
+	except OSError:
+		try:
+			all_versions = Utils.winreg.OpenKey( \
+				Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, \
+				'SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Microsoft SDKs\\Windows')
+		except OSError:
+			return
+
+	index = 0
+	while 1:
+		try:
+			version = Utils.winreg.EnumKey(all_versions, index)
+		except OSError:
+			break
+
+		index += 1
+		if not version_pattern.match(version):
+			continue
+
+		try:
+			msvc_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey(all_versions, version)
+			path,type = Utils.winreg.QueryValueEx( \
+					msvc_version, \
+					'InstallationFolder')
+		except OSError:
+			continue
+
+		if path and os.path.isfile(os.path.join(path, 'bin', 'SetEnv.cmd')):
+			targets = {}
+			for target,arch in all_msvc_platforms:
+				targets[target] = target_compiler( \
+						conf, \
+						'wsdk', \
+						arch, \
+						version, \
+						'/' + target, \
+						os.path.join(path, 'bin', 'SetEnv.cmd'))
+
+			versions['wsdk ' + version[1:]] = targets
+
+def gather_msvc_detected_versions():
+	#Detected MSVC versions!
+	version_pattern = re.compile(r'^(\d\d?\.\d\d?)(Exp)?$')
+	detected_versions = []
+	for vcver,vcvar in (('VCExpress','Exp'), ('VisualStudio','')):
+		prefix = 'SOFTWARE\\Wow6432node\\Microsoft\\' + vcver
+		try:
+			all_versions = Utils.winreg.OpenKey( \
+				Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, \
+				prefix)
+		except OSError:
+			prefix = 'SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\' + vcver
+			try:
+				all_versions = Utils.winreg.OpenKey( \
+					Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, \
+					prefix)
+			except OSError:
+				continue
+
+		index = 0
+		while 1:
+			try:
+				version = Utils.winreg.EnumKey(all_versions, index)
+			except OSError:
+				break
+
+			index += 1
+			match = version_pattern.match(version)
+			if match:
+				versionnumber = float(match.group(1))
+			else:
+				continue
+
+			detected_versions.append( \
+				(versionnumber, version + vcvar, prefix + '\\' + version))
+
+	def fun(tup):
+		return tup[0]
+
+	detected_versions.sort(key = fun)
+	return detected_versions
+
+@conf
+def get_msvc_version(conf, compiler, version, target, vcvars):
+	"""
+	Checks that an installed compiler actually runs and uses vcvars to obtain the
+	environment needed by the compiler.
+
+	:param compiler: compiler type, for looking up the executable name
+	:param version: compiler version, for debugging only
+	:param target: target architecture
+	:param vcvars: batch file to run to check the environment
+	:return: the location of the compiler executable, the location of include dirs, and the library paths
+	:rtype: tuple of strings
+	"""
+	Logs.debug('msvc: get_msvc_version: %r %r %r', compiler, version, target)
+
+	try:
+		conf.msvc_cnt += 1
+	except AttributeError:
+		conf.msvc_cnt = 1
+	batfile = conf.bldnode.make_node('waf-print-msvc-%d.bat' % conf.msvc_cnt)
+	batfile.write("""@echo off
+set INCLUDE=
+set LIB=
+call "%s" %s
+echo PATH=%%PATH%%
+echo INCLUDE=%%INCLUDE%%
+echo LIB=%%LIB%%;%%LIBPATH%%
+""" % (vcvars,target))
+	sout = conf.cmd_and_log(['cmd.exe', '/E:on', '/V:on', '/C', batfile.abspath()])
+	lines = sout.splitlines()
+
+	if not lines[0]:
+		lines.pop(0)
+
+	MSVC_PATH = MSVC_INCDIR = MSVC_LIBDIR = None
+	for line in lines:
+		if line.startswith('PATH='):
+			path = line[5:]
+			MSVC_PATH = path.split(';')
+		elif line.startswith('INCLUDE='):
+			MSVC_INCDIR = [i for i in line[8:].split(';') if i]
+		elif line.startswith('LIB='):
+			MSVC_LIBDIR = [i for i in line[4:].split(';') if i]
+	if None in (MSVC_PATH, MSVC_INCDIR, MSVC_LIBDIR):
+		conf.fatal('msvc: Could not find a valid architecture for building (get_msvc_version_3)')
+
+	# Check if the compiler is usable at all.
+	# The detection may return 64-bit versions even on 32-bit systems, and these would fail to run.
+	env = dict(os.environ)
+	env.update(PATH = path)
+	compiler_name, linker_name, lib_name = _get_prog_names(conf, compiler)
+	cxx = conf.find_program(compiler_name, path_list=MSVC_PATH)
+
+	# delete CL if exists. because it could contain parameters which can change cl's behaviour rather catastrophically.
+	if 'CL' in env:
+		del(env['CL'])
+
+	try:
+		conf.cmd_and_log(cxx + ['/help'], env=env)
+	except UnicodeError:
+		st = traceback.format_exc()
+		if conf.logger:
+			conf.logger.error(st)
+		conf.fatal('msvc: Unicode error - check the code page?')
+	except Exception as e:
+		Logs.debug('msvc: get_msvc_version: %r %r %r -> failure %s', compiler, version, target, str(e))
+		conf.fatal('msvc: cannot run the compiler in get_msvc_version (run with -v to display errors)')
+	else:
+		Logs.debug('msvc: get_msvc_version: %r %r %r -> OK', compiler, version, target)
+	finally:
+		conf.env[compiler_name] = ''
+
+	return (MSVC_PATH, MSVC_INCDIR, MSVC_LIBDIR)
+
+class target_compiler(object):
+	"""
+	Wrap a compiler configuration; call evaluate() to determine
+	whether the configuration is usable.
+	"""
+	def __init__( \
+		self, \
+		ctx, \
+		compiler, \
+		cpu, \
+		version, \
+		bat_target, \
+		bat, \
+		callback=None):
+		"""
+		:param ctx: configuration context to use to eventually get the version environment
+		:param compiler: compiler name
+		:param cpu: target cpu
+		:param version: compiler version number
+		:param bat_target: ?
+		:param bat: path to the batch file to run
+		"""
+		self.conf = ctx
+		self.name = None
+		self.is_valid = False
+		self.is_done = False
+
+		self.compiler = compiler
+		self.cpu = cpu
+		self.version = version
+		self.bat_target = bat_target
+		self.bat = bat
+		self.callback = callback
+
+	def evaluate(self):
+		if self.is_done:
+			return
+		self.is_done = True
+		try:
+			vs = self.conf.get_msvc_version( \
+				self.compiler, \
+				self.version, \
+				self.bat_target, \
+				self.bat)
+		except Errors.ConfigurationError:
+			self.is_valid = False
+			return
+
+		if self.callback:
+			vs = self.callback(self, vs)
+
+		self.is_valid = True
+		(self.bindirs, self.incdirs, self.libdirs) = vs
+
+	def __str__(self):
+		return str( \
+			(self.compiler, self.cpu, self.version, self.bat_target, self.bat))
+
+	def __repr__(self):
+		return repr( \
+			(self.compiler, self.cpu, self.version, self.bat_target, self.bat))
+
+@conf
+def gather_msvc_targets(conf, versions, version, vc_path):
+	#Looking for normal MSVC compilers!
+	targets = {}
+
+	vsvarsall = os.path.join( \
+		vc_path, \
+		'VC', \
+		'Auxiliary', \
+		'Build', \
+		'vcvarsall.bat')
+
+	# Modern Visual Studio versions, 2017 and up
+	if os.path.isfile(vsvarsall):
+		for target,realtarget in all_msvc_platforms[::-1]:
+			targets[target] = target_compiler( \
+				conf, \
+				'msvc', \
+				realtarget, \
+				version, \
+				target, \
+				vsvarsall)
+	# Visual Studio C++ Express versions?
+	elif os.path.isfile(os.path.join(vc_path, 'vcvarsall.bat')):
+		for target,realtarget in all_msvc_platforms[::-1]:
+			targets[target] = target_compiler( \
+				conf, \
+				'msvc', \
+				realtarget, \
+				version, \
+				target, \
+				os.path.join(vc_path, 'vcvarsall.bat'))
+	# Visual Studio 2010, up to 2015 (inclusive)
+	elif os.path.isfile( \
+		os.path.join(vc_path, 'Common7', 'Tools', 'vsvars32.bat')):
+		targets['x86'] = target_compiler( \
+			conf, \
+			'msvc', \
+			'x86', \
+			version, \
+			'x86', \
+			os.path.join(vc_path, 'Common7', 'Tools', 'vsvars32.bat'))
+	# Visual Studio 6, .NET 2002, .NET 2003
+	elif os.path.isfile(os.path.join(vc_path, 'Bin', 'vcvars32.bat')):
+		targets['x86'] = target_compiler( \
+			conf, \
+			'msvc', \
+			'x86', \
+			version, \
+			'', \
+			os.path.join(vc_path, 'Bin', 'vcvars32.bat'))
+
+	if targets:
+		versions['msvc %s' % version] = targets
+
+@conf
+def gather_msvc_versions(conf, versions):
+	vc_paths = []
+	for (v,version,reg) in gather_msvc_detected_versions():
+		try:
+			try:
+				msvc_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey( \
+					Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, \
+					reg + "\\Setup\\VC")
+			except OSError:
+				msvc_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey( \
+					Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, \
+					reg + "\\Setup\\Microsoft Visual C++")
+
+			path,type = Utils.winreg.QueryValueEx(msvc_version, 'ProductDir')
+		except OSError:
+			try:
+				msvc_version = Utils.winreg.OpenKey( \
+					Utils.winreg.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, \
+					"SOFTWARE\\Wow6432node\\Microsoft\\VisualStudio\\SxS\\VS7")
+
+				path,type = Utils.winreg.QueryValueEx(msvc_version, version)
+			except OSError:
+				continue
+			else:
+				vc_paths.append((version, os.path.abspath(str(path))))
+			continue
+		else:
+			vc_paths.append((version, os.path.abspath(str(path))))
+
+	for version,vc_path in vc_paths:
+		conf.gather_msvc_targets(versions, version, vc_path)
+
+@conf
+def gather_vswhere_versions(conf, versions):
+	try:
+		import json
+	except ImportError:
+		Logs.error('Visual Studio 2017 detection requires Python 2.6')
+		return
+
+	prg_path = os.environ.get( \
+		'ProgramFiles(x86)', \
+		os.environ.get('ProgramFiles', 'C:\\Program Files (x86)'))
+
+	vswhere = os.path.join( \
+		prg_path, \
+		'Microsoft Visual Studio', \
+		'Installer', \
+		'vswhere.exe')
+
+	args = [vswhere, '-products', '*', '-legacy', '-format', 'json']
+	try:
+		txt = conf.cmd_and_log(args)
+	except Errors.WafError as e:
+		Logs.debug('msvc: vswhere.exe failed %s', e)
+		return
+
+	if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+		txt = txt.decode(Utils.console_encoding())
+
+	arr = json.loads(txt)
+	arr.sort(key=lambda x: x['installationVersion'])
+	for entry in arr:
+		ver = entry['installationVersion']
+		ver = str('.'.join(ver.split('.')[:2]))
+		path = str(os.path.abspath(entry['installationPath']))
+		if os.path.exists(path) and ('msvc %s' % ver) not in versions:
+			conf.gather_msvc_targets(versions, ver, path)
+
+@conf
+def get_msvc_versions(self, icl_func=None):
+	"""
+	:return: platform to compiler configurations
+	:rtype: dict
+	"""
+	dct = icl_func(self) if icl_func else Utils.ordered_iter_dict()
+	self.gather_wsdk_versions(dct)
+	self.gather_msvc_versions(dct)
+	self.gather_vswhere_versions(dct)
+	Logs.debug('msvc: detected versions %r', list(dct.keys()))
+	return dct
+
+@conf
+def setup_msvc(conf, versiondict):
+	"""
+	Checks installed compilers and targets and returns the first combination
+	from the user's options, env, or the global supported lists that checks.
+
+	:param versiondict: dict(platform -> dict(architecture -> configuration))
+	:type versiondict: dict(string -> dict(string -> target_compiler)
+	:return: the compiler, revision, path, include dirs, library paths and target architecture
+	:rtype: tuple of strings
+	"""
+	platforms = getattr(Options.options, 'msvc_targets', '').split(',')
+	if platforms == ['']:
+		platforms = Utils.to_list(conf.env.MSVC_TARGETS) or \
+			[i for i,j in all_msvc_platforms + all_icl_platforms]
+
+	desired_versions = getattr(Options.options, 'msvc_version', '').split(',')
+	if desired_versions == ['']:
+		desired_versions = conf.env.MSVC_VERSIONS \
+			or list(reversed(sorted(versiondict.keys())))
+
+	# Override lazy detection by evaluating after the fact.
+	lazy_detect = getattr(Options.options, 'msvc_lazy', True)
+	if conf.env.MSVC_LAZY_AUTODETECT is False:
+		lazy_detect = False
+
+	if not lazy_detect:
+		for val in versiondict.values():
+			for arch in list(val.keys()):
+				cfg = val[arch]
+				cfg.evaluate()
+				if not cfg.is_valid:
+					del val[arch]
+
+		conf.env.MSVC_INSTALLED_VERSIONS = versiondict
+
+	for version in desired_versions:
+		Logs.debug('msvc: detecting %r - %r', version, desired_versions)
+		try:
+			targets = versiondict[version]
+		except KeyError:
+			continue
+
+		seen = set()
+		for arch in platforms:
+			if arch in seen:
+				continue
+			else:
+				seen.add(arch)
+			try:
+				cfg = targets[arch]
+			except KeyError:
+				continue
+
+			cfg.evaluate()
+			if cfg.is_valid:
+				compiler,revision = version.rsplit(' ', 1)
+				return compiler, \
+					revision, \
+					cfg.bindirs, \
+					cfg.incdirs, \
+					cfg.libdirs, \
+					cfg.cpu
+
+	conf.fatal( \
+		'msvc: Impossible to find a valid architecture for building %r - %r' \
+		% (desired_versions, list(versiondict.keys())))
+
+@conf
+def detect_msvc(self, icl_func=None):
+	return self.setup_msvc(self.get_msvc_versions(icl_func))
+
+@conf
+def autodetect(conf, arch=False, icl_func=None):
+	v = conf.env
+	if v.NO_MSVC_DETECT:
+		return
+
+	compiler, version, path, includes, libdirs, cpu = conf.detect_msvc(icl_func)
+	if arch:
+		v.DEST_CPU = cpu
+
+	v.PATH = path
+	v.INCLUDES = includes
+	v.LIBPATH = libdirs
+	v.MSVC_COMPILER = compiler
+	try:
+		v.MSVC_VERSION = float(version)
+	except ValueError:
+		v.MSVC_VERSION = float(version[:-3])
+
+def _get_prog_names(conf, compiler):
+	if compiler == 'intel':
+		compiler_name = 'ICL'
+		linker_name = 'XILINK'
+		lib_name = 'XILIB'
+	else:
+		# assumes CL.exe
+		compiler_name = 'CL'
+		linker_name = 'LINK'
+		lib_name = 'LIB'
+	return compiler_name, linker_name, lib_name
+
+@conf
+def find_msvc(conf):
+	"""Due to path format limitations, limit operation only to native Win32.
+	Yeah it sucks.
+	When using clang_cl, still call this, but unset v.CC and v.CXX.
+	"""
+	if sys.platform == 'cygwin':
+		conf.fatal('MSVC module does not work under cygwin Python!')
+
+	# the autodetection is supposed to be performed before entering in this method
+	v = conf.env
+	path = v.PATH
+	compiler = v.MSVC_COMPILER
+	version = v.MSVC_VERSION
+
+	compiler_name, linker_name, lib_name = _get_prog_names(conf, compiler)
+	v.MSVC_MANIFEST = (compiler == 'msvc' and version >= 8) or (compiler == 'wsdk' and version >= 6) or (compiler == 'intel' and version >= 11)
+
+	# compiler
+	cxx = conf.find_program(compiler_name, var='CXX', path_list=path)
+
+	# before setting anything, check if the compiler is really msvc
+	env = dict(conf.environ)
+	if path:
+		env.update(PATH = ';'.join(path))
+	if not conf.cmd_and_log(cxx + ['/nologo', '/help'], env=env):
+		conf.fatal('the msvc compiler could not be identified')
+
+	# c/c++ compiler
+	v.CC = v.CXX = cxx
+	v.CC_NAME = v.CXX_NAME = 'msvc'
+
+	# linker
+	if not v.LINK_CXX:
+		conf.find_program(linker_name, path_list=path, errmsg='%s was not found (linker)' % linker_name, var='LINK_CXX')
+
+	if not v.LINK_CC:
+		v.LINK_CC = v.LINK_CXX
+
+	# staticlib linker
+	if not v.AR:
+		stliblink = conf.find_program(lib_name, path_list=path, var='AR')
+		if not stliblink:
+			return
+		v.ARFLAGS = ['/nologo']
+
+	# manifest tool. Not required for VS 2003 and below. Must have for VS 2005 and later
+	if v.MSVC_MANIFEST:
+		conf.find_program('MT', path_list=path, var='MT')
+		v.MTFLAGS = ['/nologo']
+
+	try:
+		conf.load('winres')
+	except Errors.ConfigurationError:
+		Logs.warn('Resource compiler not found. Compiling resource file is disabled')
+
+@conf
+def msvc_common_flags(conf):
+	"""
+	Setup the flags required for executing the msvc compiler
+	"""
+	v = conf.env
+
+	v.DEST_BINFMT = 'pe'
+	v.append_value('CFLAGS', ['/nologo'])
+	v.append_value('CXXFLAGS', ['/nologo'])
+	v.append_value('LINKFLAGS', ['/nologo'])
+	v.DEFINES_ST   = '/D%s'
+
+	v.CC_SRC_F     = ''
+	v.CC_TGT_F     = ['/c', '/Fo']
+	v.CXX_SRC_F    = ''
+	v.CXX_TGT_F    = ['/c', '/Fo']
+
+	if (v.MSVC_COMPILER == 'msvc' and v.MSVC_VERSION >= 8) \
+	or (v.MSVC_COMPILER == 'wsdk' and v.MSVC_VERSION >= 6):
+		v.CC_TGT_F = ['/FC'] + v.CC_TGT_F
+		v.CXX_TGT_F = ['/FC'] + v.CXX_TGT_F
+
+	v.CPPPATH_ST = '/I%s' # template for adding include paths
+
+	v.AR_TGT_F = v.CCLNK_TGT_F = v.CXXLNK_TGT_F = '/OUT:'
+
+	# CRT specific flags
+	v.CFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED     = v.CXXFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED     = ['/MT']
+	v.CFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL = v.CXXFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL = ['/MD']
+
+	v.CFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DBG     = v.CXXFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DBG     = ['/MTd']
+	v.CFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL_DBG = v.CXXFLAGS_CRT_MULTITHREADED_DLL_DBG = ['/MDd']
+
+	v.LIB_ST            = '%s.lib'
+	v.LIBPATH_ST        = '/LIBPATH:%s'
+	v.STLIB_ST          = '%s.lib'
+	v.STLIBPATH_ST      = '/LIBPATH:%s'
+
+	if v.MSVC_MANIFEST:
+		v.append_value('LINKFLAGS', ['/MANIFEST'])
+
+	v.CFLAGS_cshlib     = []
+	v.CXXFLAGS_cxxshlib = []
+	v.LINKFLAGS_cshlib  = v.LINKFLAGS_cxxshlib = ['/DLL']
+	v.cshlib_PATTERN    = v.cxxshlib_PATTERN = '%s.dll'
+	v.implib_PATTERN    = '%s.lib'
+	v.IMPLIB_ST         = '/IMPLIB:%s'
+
+	v.LINKFLAGS_cstlib  = []
+	v.cstlib_PATTERN    = v.cxxstlib_PATTERN = '%s.lib'
+
+	v.cprogram_PATTERN  = v.cxxprogram_PATTERN = '%s.exe'
+
+	v.def_PATTERN       = '/def:%s'
+
+@conf
+def visual_studio_add_flags(self):
+	"""visual studio flags found in the system environment"""
+	v = self.env
+	if self.environ.get('INCLUDE'):
+		v.prepend_value('INCLUDES', [x for x in self.environ['INCLUDE'].split(';') if x]) # notice the 'S'
+	if self.environ.get('LIB'):
+		v.prepend_value('LIBPATH', [x for x in self.environ['LIB'].split(';') if x])
+
+@conf
+def find_lt_names_msvc(self, libname, is_static=False):
+	"""
+	Win32/MSVC specific code to glean out information from libtool la files.
+	this function is not attached to the task_gen class. Returns a triplet:
+	(library absolute path, library name without extension, whether the library is static)
+	"""
+	lt_names=[
+		'lib%s.la' % libname,
+		'%s.la' % libname,
+	]
+
+	for path in self.env.LIBPATH:
+		for la in lt_names:
+			laf=os.path.join(path,la)
+			dll=None
+			if os.path.exists(laf):
+				ltdict = Utils.read_la_file(laf)
+				lt_libdir=None
+				if ltdict.get('libdir', ''):
+					lt_libdir = ltdict['libdir']
+				if not is_static and ltdict.get('library_names', ''):
+					dllnames=ltdict['library_names'].split()
+					dll=dllnames[0].lower()
+					dll=re.sub(r'\.dll$', '', dll)
+					return (lt_libdir, dll, False)
+				elif ltdict.get('old_library', ''):
+					olib=ltdict['old_library']
+					if os.path.exists(os.path.join(path,olib)):
+						return (path, olib, True)
+					elif lt_libdir != '' and os.path.exists(os.path.join(lt_libdir,olib)):
+						return (lt_libdir, olib, True)
+					else:
+						return (None, olib, True)
+				else:
+					raise self.errors.WafError('invalid libtool object file: %s' % laf)
+	return (None, None, None)
+
+@conf
+def libname_msvc(self, libname, is_static=False):
+	lib = libname.lower()
+	lib = re.sub(r'\.lib$','',lib)
+
+	if lib in g_msvc_systemlibs:
+		return lib
+
+	lib=re.sub('^lib','',lib)
+
+	if lib == 'm':
+		return None
+
+	(lt_path, lt_libname, lt_static) = self.find_lt_names_msvc(lib, is_static)
+
+	if lt_path != None and lt_libname != None:
+		if lt_static:
+			# file existence check has been made by find_lt_names
+			return os.path.join(lt_path,lt_libname)
+
+	if lt_path != None:
+		_libpaths = [lt_path] + self.env.LIBPATH
+	else:
+		_libpaths = self.env.LIBPATH
+
+	static_libs=[
+		'lib%ss.lib' % lib,
+		'lib%s.lib' % lib,
+		'%ss.lib' % lib,
+		'%s.lib' %lib,
+		]
+
+	dynamic_libs=[
+		'lib%s.dll.lib' % lib,
+		'lib%s.dll.a' % lib,
+		'%s.dll.lib' % lib,
+		'%s.dll.a' % lib,
+		'lib%s_d.lib' % lib,
+		'%s_d.lib' % lib,
+		'%s.lib' %lib,
+		]
+
+	libnames=static_libs
+	if not is_static:
+		libnames=dynamic_libs + static_libs
+
+	for path in _libpaths:
+		for libn in libnames:
+			if os.path.exists(os.path.join(path, libn)):
+				Logs.debug('msvc: lib found: %s', os.path.join(path,libn))
+				return re.sub(r'\.lib$', '',libn)
+
+	#if no lib can be found, just return the libname as msvc expects it
+	self.fatal('The library %r could not be found' % libname)
+	return re.sub(r'\.lib$', '', libname)
+
+@conf
+def check_lib_msvc(self, libname, is_static=False, uselib_store=None):
+	"""
+	Ideally we should be able to place the lib in the right env var, either STLIB or LIB,
+	but we don't distinguish static libs from shared libs.
+	This is ok since msvc doesn't have any special linker flag to select static libs (no env.STLIB_MARKER)
+	"""
+	libn = self.libname_msvc(libname, is_static)
+
+	if not uselib_store:
+		uselib_store = libname.upper()
+
+	if False and is_static: # disabled
+		self.env['STLIB_' + uselib_store] = [libn]
+	else:
+		self.env['LIB_' + uselib_store] = [libn]
+
+@conf
+def check_libs_msvc(self, libnames, is_static=False):
+	for libname in Utils.to_list(libnames):
+		self.check_lib_msvc(libname, is_static)
+
+###############################################################################
+########################### conf above, build below ###########################
+###############################################################################
+
+@after_method('apply_link')
+@feature('c', 'cxx')
+def apply_flags_msvc(self):
+	"""
+	Add additional flags implied by msvc, such as subsystems and pdb files::
+
+		def build(bld):
+			bld.stlib(source='main.c', target='bar', subsystem='gruik')
+	"""
+	if self.env.CC_NAME != 'msvc' or not getattr(self, 'link_task', None):
+		return
+
+	is_static = isinstance(self.link_task, ccroot.stlink_task)
+
+	subsystem = getattr(self, 'subsystem', '')
+	if subsystem:
+		subsystem = '/subsystem:%s' % subsystem
+		flags = is_static and 'ARFLAGS' or 'LINKFLAGS'
+		self.env.append_value(flags, subsystem)
+
+	if not is_static:
+		for f in self.env.LINKFLAGS:
+			d = f.lower()
+			if d[1:] in ('debug', 'debug:full', 'debug:fastlink'):
+				pdbnode = self.link_task.outputs[0].change_ext('.pdb')
+				self.link_task.outputs.append(pdbnode)
+
+				if getattr(self, 'install_task', None):
+					self.pdb_install_task = self.add_install_files(
+						install_to=self.install_task.install_to, install_from=pdbnode)
+				break
+
+@feature('cprogram', 'cshlib', 'cxxprogram', 'cxxshlib')
+@after_method('apply_link')
+def apply_manifest(self):
+	"""
+	Special linker for MSVC with support for embedding manifests into DLL's
+	and executables compiled by Visual Studio 2005 or probably later. Without
+	the manifest file, the binaries are unusable.
+	See: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms235542(VS.80).aspx
+	"""
+	if self.env.CC_NAME == 'msvc' and self.env.MSVC_MANIFEST and getattr(self, 'link_task', None):
+		out_node = self.link_task.outputs[0]
+		man_node = out_node.parent.find_or_declare(out_node.name + '.manifest')
+		self.link_task.outputs.append(man_node)
+		self.env.DO_MANIFEST = True