What do I really need in a C ++ project?

I did a lot of programming in college and have a basic understanding of how to program. All the time the programming environment was set up and all the necessary files were provided. Even the source files were pre-populated where I only had to add important lines of code. So I learned the programming language and code, but I have no idea what is needed other than code to create a working application.

Now that I want to create my own application, what do I need to have besides functional programming code? What files are generated automatically for me (e.g. in MS Visual Studio 2008 C ++), what other files / libraries should I include? What are the main parameters of the project should I pay attention to? and etc.

Most of the tutorials I have found are about programming and rarely mention the questions above. If anyone could name topics that cover these issues, I would really appreciate it. Links to educational sources are encouraged.