The main() Function

Example 1

// This is the classic form of the main() function
// with argument parameters. We have added a simple
// for loop to output the parameters for illustration.
#include <iostream>

int main(int argc, const char* argv[]) {

    for (int i = 0; i < argc; ++i) {
        std::cout << argv[i] << std::endl;
    }
    return 0;
}

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Suppose that this program is compiled into an executable called "MyProg.exe" and is located in the folder "C:\Dev\C++\" as shown here.

Below, we give the command to execute the program with three argument parameters. The program is "MyProg.exe" and is located in "C:\Dev\C++" with the three arguments "arg1 arg2 arg3" appended. The first "C:\>" is just the command prompt for our C drive.

C:\>C:\Dev\C++\MyProg.exe arg1 arg2 arg3

The command prompt for this is shown here:

For clarity, the output is shown below with those argument parameters used. Note that the first argument is the executable with its path location.

C:\Dev\C++\MyProg.exe
arg1
arg2
arg3

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Example 2

// We do not need to have our main() function take parameters.
// This simpler version is also standard in C++.
// Returning 0 from main indicates success and 1 indicates failure.
int main() {

    // Some code
    bool bHasError(false);

    // Some code
    if (bHasError) {
        return 1;
    }

    // Some code
    return 0;
}

Example 3

// This is the same as Example 2 above.
// However, the return numbers are given as names for clarity.
// These values are defined in stdlib.h. This file, or one
// that includes it such as iostream, must be included.
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    // Some code
    bool bHasError(false);

    // Some code
    if (bHasError) {
        return EXIT_FAILURE;
    }

    // Some code
    return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}

Example 4

// This example is the simplest main() function signature.
// It can be used in Visual C++, but it is not in the C++ standard.
void main() {

    // Some code
}