First Instance of "STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE" Identifier is Undefined

Question

I am using Visual Studio 2019, and my code uses console outputs which change colors frequently. I am including Windows.h in my code, which is the header file that contains SetConsoleTextAttributes, whereas STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE should be initialized by using namespace std. My code in its entirety can be found here, but the following is the section with the error:

#include <iostream>
#include <cmath>
#include "HeadFile.h"
#include <windows.h>
#include <string.h>

using namespace std;

int Play(char(&spaces)[7][6], int(&color)[7][6], int player, int playerOneWins, int playerTwoWins, int ties)
{
    HANDLE hConsole;
    hConsole = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);
.....

The code runs fine, but inside of studio itself, I see the following error:

The error is coming from the first instance of STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE only (another case at the bottom of the picture has no errors). If I comment out the first one, the next instance errors:

How can I fix this issue? I've read in a few non-related posts that using namespace std can sometimes lead to problems. Is this the case?

`STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE` is a preprocessor macro, it is not affected by `using namespace std;` (which [you should not be using to begin with](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1452721/why-is-using-namespace-std-considered-bad-practice)) . What you describe is an IDE issue, not a coding issue. — Remy Lebeau, Apr 04 '20 at 04:32
Code analysis tools have to balance accurate and fast, and sometimes fast wins and the tool spits out a false positive. Wish I had a solution for you, but instead all I can do is share the pain. I have rewritten valid code to eliminate bogus warning more than once. — user4581301, Apr 04 '20 at 04:37
@RemyLebeau Good to know, I'll see if there's anything I can do from VS — David, Apr 04 '20 at 04:40
@user4581301 I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I've had that happen before in Eclipse but never VS — David, Apr 04 '20 at 04:40
Don't get me started on Eclipse. Chokes on forward-declarations of nested classes, and I have a LOT of of those suckers serving up PIMPLs. — user4581301, Apr 04 '20 at 04:50

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered May 30 '20 at 08:41

3

Use Header file "Windows.h" instead of "windows.h".

answered May 30 '20 at 08:41

Muneeb Elahi Malik

46
2

So you think that capitalisation of file names is the problem in a windows environment. Please elaborate. – Yunnosch May 30 '20 at 08:55
2

Yes since the C++ and a lot of other languages are case sensitive, the names need to be written exactly the same. – Mehroz Mustafa May 30 '20 at 09:06
Muneeb Elahi Malik thanks for your extremely concise answer! @MehrozMustafa It is good to know that C++ library names are case sensitive! – cmarangu May 17 '22 at 02:06

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 25 '22 at 22:58

0

I had the same problem, adding #include <stdlib.h> fixed it for me.

answered Aug 25 '22 at 22:58

e45g

1
1

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 13 '22 at 14:43

0

I had the same problem, you need to use #include <Stdio.h>

answered Dec 13 '22 at 14:43

Micsha

1

There is no such standard GCC library named as Stdio.h. I think you are referring the one with small s? – Abhishek Dutt Dec 17 '22 at 12:39
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First Instance of "STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE" Identifier is Undefined

3 Answers3