Console Window

Console window on Windows

Programs are built for the GUI subsystem, so starting one (by double click, or from a window of the program) does not open a console window next to its own window. If the program is started from a terminal, it uses that terminal: Print, Write, Input, DebugLog and runtime errors work as on other systems, and they follow the redirection of the terminal (program.exe > out.txt writes Print to the file, 2> log.txt writes DebugLog). Started without a terminal there is nothing to print to, so Print and DebugLog show nothing (DebugLog still goes to an attached debugger), and a runtime error is shown in a message box. The terminal does not wait for a GUI program, so its prompt may appear before the output of the program ends; use start /wait program.exe to wait. A program that runs blitzcc without -o runs from blitzcc's terminal, so its output is shown as usual.

For a program that never opens a window, build it with blitzcc --console, which creates a console program that opens a console window when started without a terminal. This is only done for Windows, other systems always have the console they were started from.