Velthuis.AutoConsole

An up-to-date version of this and other files can be found in my Consoles project on GitHub.

Console programs

I often (really, very often) write console programs. Most of them are simple test programs to test algorithms, calculations or language features, or stuff copied from StackOverflow.

But console programs, if run from the IDE, or from the Windows Explorer, have one annoying feature: they close immediately if they are finished. So if my program has many Writelns in it, they simply rush by and the console window closes before I can inspect the output. To avoid that, I often put Readln; in the last line of the program. If the program is finished, it pauses and waits for me to press Enter.

But such a Readln; is annoying if I really want to run the program from an existing console window (a.k.a. a Windows command line). Then I don’t want to have to press Enter, because the output is shown in the current console window already, and that won’t close until I tell it to.

Solution

To get the best of both worlds, I wrote my simple Velthuis.AutoConsole unit. Put it in the uses clause of your console program and, if the program is a console program and it was started from the command line, or if it is not a console program, it will do nothing. But if it is a console program and it was started any other way (from the Windows Explorer, from the Delphi IDE with or without debugger, from another non-console program), then, before the console window can close, it will display:

Press any key...

Then I really only have to press a key (it does not have to be Enter, it can be any key) and the program will end, closing the console Window.

You can download the code for Velthuis.AutoConsole from my Consoles project on GitHub.

Conclusion

I hope this code is useful to you. If you use some of it, please credit me. If you modify or improve the unit, please send me the modifications.

I may improve or enhance the unit myself, and I will try to post changes here. But this is not a promise. Please don’t request features.

I do not accept any responsibility about the usability or in case of any damage caused by the use of my programs or files. Use them at your own risk. If they don’t work properly, you have the sources.

Rudy Velthuis