Draw on cmd using c++

Question

I'm trying to draw a chess board on the cmd screen - 64 squares, and a letter in each one, that symbolize the solider that in this place. After very long searching, I found a code that change the words color, but my question is how can I draw squares on the cmd? BLACK - WHITE and so on. This is the code I've found :

int main()
{

    HANDLE hConsole;
    hConsole = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);

    // Use the three primary colors for mixing any other color.
    // Use FOREGROUND_INTENSITY for brighter colors.
    SetConsoleTextAttribute
        (hConsole, FOREGROUND_RED | FOREGROUND_INTENSITY);
    cout << "Bright red text\n";

    SetConsoleTextAttribute
        (hConsole, FOREGROUND_BLUE | FOREGROUND_INTENSITY);
    cout << "Bright blue text\n";

    SetConsoleTextAttribute
        (hConsole, FOREGROUND_RED | FOREGROUND_GREEN | FOREGROUND_BLUE);
    cout << "Back to normal white text\n";

    // Wait for user pressing key before exiting
    // Gives them a chance to see the output
    cout << "\n\nPress any key to exit program.....";
    cin.get();

    return 0;
}

I'll be glad for some help.

Answer 1

since white is red+green+blue: background white is

BACKGROUND_RED | BACKGROUND_GREEN | BACKGROUND_BLUE

in code:

SetConsoleTextAttribute
    (hConsole,BACKGROUND_RED | BACKGROUND_GREEN | BACKGROUND_BLUE )
cout << "black on white\n";

Answer 2

Someone did this on Codeproject (Draw rectangle on screen):

#include <iostream>
#include <Windows.h>

using std::cout;

/*
 *This method sets the cursor position.
 *Usage:
 *setxy(1,1);
 */
BOOL setxy(short x, short y)
{
    COORD c = {x,y};
    return SetConsoleCursorPosition(GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE),c);
}

/*
 *This method draws the rectangle.
 *Usage:
 *DrawRect(1,1,10,10);
 *or
 *DrawRect(1,1,10,10,20,5);
 */
void DrawRect(int x, int y, int width, int height, int curPosX=0, int curPosY=0)
{
    setxy(x,y);cout << char(201);
    for(int i = 1; i < width; i++)cout << char(205);
    cout << char(187);
    setxy(x,height + y);cout << char(200);
    for(int i = 1; i < width; i++)cout << char(205);
    cout << char(188);
    for(int i = y + 1; i < height + y; i++)
    {
        setxy(x,i);cout << char(186);
        setxy(x + width,i);cout << char(186);
    }
    setxy(curPosX,curPosY);
}

int main()
{
    setxy(1,1);
    DrawRect(1,1,10,10,20,5);
    return 0;
}

Hope it helps

Answer 3

You have found the code, but you didn't really bother to understand it or to look at the documentation for SetConsoleTextAttribute .

If you had, you'd have discovered the documentation about character attributes and noticed things like BACKGROUND_RED , BACKGROUND_GREEN and BACKGROUND_BLUE which, predictably, can set the background color in the console.

Now, with the ability to change the color of the background, ask yourself "what happens if I set the background color to FOREGROUND_RED and then print a space on the console?"

Answer 4

    //win api  drawing
#include <windows.h>
#include <iostream>
#include <conio.h>
using namespace std;

void draw(HWND hwnd, HDC hdc);
void setConsoleSize();
void main()
{
  SetConsoleTitle(L"Simple Rectangle Drawing");
  HWND hwnd = GetConsoleWindow();
  HDC hdc = GetDC(hwnd);
  setConsoleSize(); // set console size
  Sleep(100);
  draw(hwnd, hdc); // drawing function
  int iKey = 1;
  while (iKey != 27) { // exit on ESC key
    if (_kbhit()) {
    iKey = _getch();
    switch (iKey)
      {
      case 112: case 80: case 167: case 135:
      draw(hwnd, hdc); // on   key 'p' we redraw
      break;
      }
    }
  }
  ReleaseDC(hwnd, hdc); //cleaning console descriptors
}

// here you place your Drawing
void draw(HWND hwnd, HDC hdc)
{
  Rectangle(hdc, 100, 60, 180, 160); // example
}

void setConsoleSize() 
{
  const int colConsole = 80;
  const int rowConsole = 30;
  HANDLE hNdl = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);
  SMALL_RECT windowSize ={0,0,colConsole-1,rowConsole-1};
  SetConsoleWindowInfo(hNdl, TRUE, &windowSize);// bufferSize 
  SetConsoleScreenBufferSize(hNdl, bufferSize);
}