Getting Rid of Black Console Window When Running C++ Application - c++

Question

I am using Netbeans 7.1 to toy around with the AI tutorial I found here.
edit: I am using the GCC compiler.
I've gotten everything working, but I can't seem to get the application to compile and run with the Windows Subsystem... The application appears to be written properly for Windows API, and the executable that came with the source files from that website launches without producing the black console window that my own executable creates.
I've tried adding -mwindows as an option to the linker, and I've tried -Wl,-subsystem,windows. Neither of these have worked for me. I've provided the main.cpp below.
#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
#include <windows.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <time.h>
#include "utils.h"
#include "CController.h"
#include "CTimer.h"
#include "resource.h"
#include "CParams.h"
// edited this out, still not working
// #pragma comment(linker, "/SUBSYSTEM:windows /ENTRY:mainCRTStartup")
///////////////////////GLOBALS ////////////////////////////////////
char* szApplicationName = "Smart Sweepers v1.0";
char* szWindowClassName = "sweeper";
//The controller class for this simulation
CController* g_pController = NULL;
//create an instance of the parameter class.
CParams g_Params;
//---------------------------- Cleanup ----------------------------------
//
// simply cleans up any memory issues when the application exits
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------
void Cleanup()
{
if (g_pController)
delete g_pController;
}
//-----------------------------------WinProc-----------------------------
//
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------
LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProc(HWND hwnd,
UINT msg,
WPARAM wparam,
LPARAM lparam)
{
//these hold the dimensions of the client window area
static int cxClient, cyClient;
//used to create the back buffer
static HDC hdcBackBuffer;
static HBITMAP hBitmap;
static HBITMAP hOldBitmap;
switch(msg)
{
case WM_CREATE:
{
//seed the random number generator
srand((unsigned) time(NULL));
//get the size of the client window
RECT rect;
GetClientRect(hwnd, &rect);
cxClient = rect.right;
cyClient = rect.bottom;
//setup the controller
g_pController = new CController(hwnd);
//create a surface for us to render to(backbuffer)
hdcBackBuffer = CreateCompatibleDC(NULL);
HDC hdc = GetDC(hwnd);
hBitmap = CreateCompatibleBitmap(hdc,
cxClient,
cyClient);
ReleaseDC(hwnd, hdc);
hOldBitmap = (HBITMAP)SelectObject(hdcBackBuffer, hBitmap);
}
break;
//check key press messages
case WM_KEYUP:
{
switch(wparam)
{
case VK_ESCAPE:
{
PostQuitMessage(0);
}
break;
case 'F':
{
g_pController->FastRenderToggle();
}
break;
//reset the demo
case 'R':
{
if (g_pController)
{
delete g_pController;
}
//setup the new controller
g_pController = new CController(hwnd);
}
break;
}//end WM_KEYUP switch
}
break;
//has the user resized the client area?
case WM_SIZE:
{
cxClient = LOWORD(lparam);
cyClient = HIWORD(lparam);
//resize the backbuffer accordingly
SelectObject(hdcBackBuffer, hOldBitmap);
HDC hdc = GetDC(hwnd);
hBitmap = CreateCompatibleBitmap(hdc,
cxClient,
cyClient);
ReleaseDC(hwnd, hdc);
hOldBitmap = (HBITMAP)SelectObject(hdcBackBuffer, hBitmap);
}
break;
case WM_PAINT:
{
PAINTSTRUCT ps;
BeginPaint(hwnd, &ps);
//fill our backbuffer with white
BitBlt(hdcBackBuffer,
0,
0,
cxClient,
cyClient,
NULL,
NULL,
NULL,
WHITENESS);
//render the mines and sweepers
g_pController->Render(hdcBackBuffer);
//now blit backbuffer to front
BitBlt(ps.hdc, 0, 0, cxClient, cyClient, hdcBackBuffer, 0, 0, SRCCOPY);
EndPaint(hwnd, &ps);
}
break;
case WM_DESTROY:
{
SelectObject(hdcBackBuffer, hOldBitmap);
//clean up our backbuffer objects
DeleteDC(hdcBackBuffer);
DeleteObject(hBitmap);
// kill the application, this sends a WM_QUIT message
PostQuitMessage(0);
}
break;
default:break;
}//end switch
// default msg handler
return (DefWindowProc(hwnd, msg, wparam, lparam));
}//end WinProc
//-----------------------------------WinMain-----------------------------------------
// Entry point for our windows application
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
int WINAPI WinMain( HINSTANCE hinstance,
HINSTANCE hprevinstance,
LPSTR lpcmdline,
int ncmdshow)
{
WNDCLASSEX winclass;
HWND hwnd;
MSG msg;
// first fill in the window class stucture
winclass.cbSize = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX);
winclass.style = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW;
winclass.lpfnWndProc = WindowProc;
winclass.cbClsExtra = 0;
winclass.cbWndExtra = 0;
winclass.hInstance = hinstance;
winclass.hIcon = LoadIcon(hinstance, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDI_ICON1));
winclass.hCursor = LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);
winclass.hbrBackground= NULL;
winclass.lpszMenuName = NULL;
winclass.lpszClassName= szWindowClassName;
winclass.hIconSm = LoadIcon(hinstance, MAKEINTRESOURCE(IDI_ICON1));
// register the window class
if (!RegisterClassEx(&winclass))
{
MessageBox(NULL, "Error Registering Class!", "Error", 0);
return 0;
}
// create the window (one that cannot be resized)
if (!(hwnd = CreateWindowEx(NULL,
szWindowClassName,
szApplicationName,
WS_OVERLAPPED | WS_VISIBLE | WS_CAPTION | WS_SYSMENU,
GetSystemMetrics(SM_CXSCREEN)/2 - CParams::WindowWidth/2,
GetSystemMetrics(SM_CYSCREEN)/2 - CParams::WindowHeight/2,
CParams::WindowWidth,
CParams::WindowHeight,
NULL,
NULL,
hinstance,
NULL)))
{
MessageBox(NULL, "Error Creating Window!", "Error", 0);
return 0;
}
//Show the window
ShowWindow(hwnd, SW_SHOWDEFAULT );
UpdateWindow(hwnd);
//create a timer
CTimer timer(CParams::iFramesPerSecond);
//start the timer
timer.Start();
// Enter the message loop
bool bDone = FALSE;
while(!bDone)
{
while( PeekMessage( &msg, NULL, 0, 0, PM_REMOVE ) )
{
if( msg.message == WM_QUIT )
{
//Stop loop if it's a quit message
bDone = TRUE;
}
else
{
TranslateMessage( &msg );
DispatchMessage( &msg );
}
}
if (timer.ReadyForNextFrame() || g_pController->FastRender())
{
if(!g_pController->Update())
{
//we have a problem, end app
bDone = TRUE;
}
//this will call WM_PAINT which will render our scene
InvalidateRect(hwnd, NULL, TRUE);
UpdateWindow(hwnd);
}
}//end while
// Clean up everything and exit the app
Cleanup();
UnregisterClass( szWindowClassName, winclass.hInstance );
return 0;
} // end WinMain

Answer 1

This seems a bit strange, but windows subsystem application uses WinMainCRTStartup as entry point. So the following line looks inconsistent:
#pragma comment(linker, "/SUBSYSTEM:windows /ENTRY:mainCRTStartup")
It probably should be "/SUBSYSTEM:windows /ENTRY:WinMainCRTStartup" or "/SUBSYSTEM:console /ENTRY:mainCRTStartup"
On the other hand, I never trried to make a windows app with gcc. It may completely ignore this #pragma... Anyway, try to comment it out and see what happens. Generally compiler should be able to select the proper entry point without the compile time parameter anyway.