Create an app than doesnt show the console? (win32)

chris warwick Joined: 03/12/07 Posts: 7

Posted: 03/15/07 12:54:28 Hi, how do i create an app that doesnt show a console window when it starts? I have a main() function which does the windows message loop thang.. i tried winMain but it seems that the compiler is expecting "main" as an entry point, but when i use that I get a console window aswell as my main app window. I also tried to locate the tango source file that handles all this stuff but i couldnt find it. thanks cw

Author	Message
sean Joined: 06/24/04 Posts: 109	Posted: 03/15/07 15:41:52 It's kind of weird, but one way to do this is to create a WinMain? somewhere and call: extern (C) int main(int argc, char **argv); from that. Alternately, I understand there is some way to designate C main as the entry point for non-console programs. I think Build might even offer this as an option. In fact, I'd actually had a linkable module that followed the first approach until I heard about the option in Build. It seemed preferable so the module isn't available any more.
chris warwick Joined: 03/12/07 Posts: 7	Posted: 03/15/07 16:47:20 Sorry I didnt explain myself very well. I'm not trying to designate main() as my entry point, im just trying to create a windows app that doesnt show a console window. Prior to installing Tango i just did this.. extern (Windows) int WinMain?(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow) and from that i can build a win32 app with no console window loitering about. If i use that same entry point with Tango i get the following message C:\Documents and Settings\chris\Desktop\dproj>bud Project1.d -full OPTLINK (R) for Win32 Release 7.50B1 Copyright (C) Digital Mars 1989 - 2001 All Rights Reserved C:\dmd\lib\phobos.lib(dmain2) Error 42: Symbol Undefined Dmain Which looks to me like Tango's startup code is catching the main entry, starting up the gc and doing static initialization and then *always* looking for main() to pass on to.. So unless i use main() as my entry i cant compile with tango, and using main() always pops up a console window. So I cant work out how to make a WinMain? like entry point in Tango that doesnt show a console window. thanks, chris
sean Joined: 06/24/04 Posts: 109	Posted: 03/15/07 20:52:24 Strange, that portion of the startup code is identical to Phobos, as far as I know. But I think you need a D main() regardless, since this is the entry point for the D portion of the app. I'm surprised DMD doesn't complain if you omit this.
torhu Joined: 03/30/06 Posts: 69	Posted: 03/15/07 20:59:49 Whether the console window pops up is generally controlled by a linker switch or a .def file. If you're using bud, you can just add the -gui switch. But then you can't use stdout for debugging, etc.
torhu Joined: 03/30/06 Posts: 69	Posted: 03/15/07 21:11:00 @sean: IIRC, WinMain? replaces both the C main and the D main. Look at winsamp.d and dmain2.d that comes with dmd. http://www.digitalmars.com/d/windows.html
chris warwick Joined: 03/12/07 Posts: 7	Posted: 03/15/07 22:32:18 -- Modified: 03/15/07 22:35:28 by chris warwick The -gui switch did it. It turns out that bud, or somthing somwhere was rewriting the def file to be EXETYPE DOS. Which is weird cause it wasnt doing that before i installed tango. cw
chris warwick Joined: 03/12/07 Posts: 7	Posted: 03/15/07 23:10:42 -- Modified: 03/15/07 23:11:40 by chris warwick Right well.. Apparently you dont have to use WinMain?, just main() will do, and the moduleCtors and gc_init ect.. are all called and set up prior to entry to main(). So this means you cant catch any exceptions that happen during static constructors / unit tests ect... If you go for WinMain?, you have to call the moduleCtors and gc_init yourself. So you can wrap them in try catch and display the messages in a gui message box. Here's the rub though.. since installing Tango I cannot use WinMain? unless I also have a main(), although main() is never actualy called. Omiting main() always gives this message.. C:\Documents and Settings\chris\Desktop\dproj>bud Project1.d -full -gui OPTLINK (R) for Win32 Release 7.50B1 Copyright (C) Digital Mars 1989 - 2001 All Rights Reserved C:\dmd\lib\phobos.lib(dmain2) Error 42: Symbol Undefined Dmain So you always need a main, but inclusion of WinMain? overrides its use. IIRC it wasn't that way with DM phobos. And the winsamp example would point to that being the case. cheers, cw
sean Joined: 06/24/04 Posts: 109	Posted: 03/17/07 21:04:23 Everything is set up on entry to C main, which lives in the compiler runtime. This is the function you should start, if possible. If not, WinMain? can call it: extern (C) int main( int argc, char** argv ); extern (Windows) int WinMain( HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow ) { int argc; wchar_t** argv; int rval; argv = CommandLineToArgvW( GetCommandLineW(), &argc ); rval = main( argc, null ); LocalFree( argv ); return rval; } The above code relies on the fact that the compiler runtime actually obtains its command-line arguments via GetCommandLineW. Portable, correct behavior would be to pass in a char** list of arguments instead, using WideCharToMultiByte? or whatever that function is called.