Which OS to use to build For XP and Win7

Question

I have a software which has to be deployed in Windows Xp and Windows 7 32 bit versions. Is it Ok to build the software in Win XP for for both platforms?

or

Should I build in Xp for deploying in Xp and build in Win7 for deploying in Win7?

The software is developed in C++

Answer 1

Both operating system will do the job. Just use the proper SDK version and deployment target constants (see targetver.h in C++ project template).

Answer 2

Yes you can build on any (modern) windows version for deployment on any other.
But you probably want to test on both!

Answer 3

If you really have to choose, use XP since Win7 is most likely XP-compatible.

I mean, there are more chances that your program will not run under XP if developped with Win7 than the opposite.

Of course, if you use the correct libs, it should be OK, but what if by mistake you use a Win7 only feature ?

More recent version are expected to be compatible with old versions, not the opposite.