Manifest of a native C++ application?

Question

I can't claim that I am an expert in what a.Net Assembly Manifest is, but I think I have a more or less consistent understanding of it. However the fact that when compiling my native C++ application MSVC is Embedding Manifest... doesn't fit in my understanding. What do manifests have to do with native C++ applications? Thank.

Answer 1

Manifests are additional metadata attached to the executable (either embedded into resources, or distributed standalone as.manifest files) — they're used for things like side-by-side assemblies, or UAC compatibility settings. Take a look at manifest file reference on MSDN.