[Harrison Pratt]

How can I run a console application without showing the console window?

[Thomas Linder Puls]

It seems you can do like this, but the console will however exist/flicker for a moment:

Code: Select all

implement main
    open core
 
clauses
    run() :-
        R = freeConsole(),
        if b_false = R then
            E = exception::getLastError(),
            exception::raise_nativeCallException("FreeConsole", E)
        end if,
        stdio::inputStream := inputStream_null::null,
        stdio::outputStream := outputStream_null::null,
        multiThread_native::sleep(2000),
        nothing().
 
class predicates
    freeConsole : () -> booleanInt Result language apicall.
 
end implement main
 
goal
    mainExe::run(main::run).

The main things are don't use console:: (notice the goal) and call freeConsole.

You should also consider how to properly deal with exceptions (setting mainExe::exceptionDumper to something sensible), a program like this will bring-up our "last-resort-exception" dialog and that it not completely user friendly.

(Windows Services also run without window, but are started and stopped and should figure out what to do in-between).

[Harrison Pratt]

The freeConsole works nicely although, as you said, it does flicker a console screen briefly, much like a console app.

What I was trying to do was to tidy up a tiny application that converts a clipboard string copied from medical journal titles to a valid Windows file name (i.e., remove ':' and similar characters) and put the cleaned string back on the clipboard. One day I got the notion that perhaps I could make the application (unncessarily) smaller by using a console app ... and went down a rabbit hole of exploration.

It looks like my original strategy works better for implementing a keyboard click-and-clean without screen flicker:
Create a GUI project and replace the TaskWindow creation in main.pro as shown in the code below.

Code: Select all

% DEFAULT CODE removed
clauses
    run() :-
        TaskWindow = taskWindow::new(),
        TaskWindow:show().

Code: Select all

    
% NEW CODE    
    run() :-
        if clipboard::putString(fileNameCleaner::cleanFName(clipboard::tryGetString())) then
            _ = environment_native::beep(2100, 100)
        else
            _ = environment_native::beep(1600, 1000)
        end if.

Also, I removed the TaskWindow and AboutDialog packages from the project. I probably could remove some of the unused PFC packages as well if I wanted to shrink the EXE size further.

Thomas, do you have any more thoughts on this?

[Thomas Linder Puls]

I think that is a fine solution. (Except for the beeping).

(Out of curiosity) What will run the application?

[Harrison Pratt]

I double-click the app's desktop icon to activate the link. I could also have created a keyboard shortcut, but chose not to do that.

It works like this:

• I open the article (web page or PDF), highlight & copy the title text

• click the icon (the beep lets me know it's converted the text),

• then I save the file with "print to PDF" using the cleaned text that's on the clipboard for the file name.

[Thomas Linder Puls]

OK, makes sense (as a personal tool).