There are command line tools/minimal libraries that allow you to compile C/C++ provided in the depths of Microsoft's webs that can/will let you do this without

There are command line tools/minimal libraries that allow you to compile C/C++ provided in the depths of Microsoft's webs that can/will let you do this without a full on VS install. Typically good for setting up a build server/etc. If I wasn't on a spotty network ATM I'd dig through my old blog posts to find where I wrote about it. In general though, if you can get a free version of one of the VS flavors, you'll save a lot of hassle just installing that.