Project out of date in VS2012

Question

I tried searching for similar problems in here but all of them were too complex, I'm just starting out with C++ doing my Hello World, here's the code, just in case:

#include <iostream>

int main() {
std::cout << "Hello World!\n";
return 0;
}

It only works fine if I compile it then start without debugging and without rebuilding it (when it says it's out of date). If I start debugging it still says it's out of date but no matter if I rebuild it or not, the console shows up for like half a second then the program exits. Why is this?

Answer 1

it is because your program executes then finishes through your

return 0;

so it happens and finishes almost instantly you need a way to be able to "pause" your applications execution to see your ouput. you could do std::cin >>. but i would recomend the use of system pause all you need to add is

System("pause");

and the

#include <stdlib.h>

so your hello world applicaiton should look like

#include <iostream>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main()
{
   std::cout << "hello world\n";
   system("pause");
   return 0;
}

however

 system("pause")

is a windows specific feature and should be avoided for serious applications for various reasons.

Answer 2

There are several ways to watch the output of a small program that finishes very quickly:

1. Put an infinite loop while(true) , or for(;;) ,

2. Read from std::cin .

3. Put a break point in your debugger just before the exit from main() .

4. Redirect your output from the command line: my_program.exe > my_output.txt .

I prefer method no. 4 because it doesn't require changing your code.