Application files made using CodeBlocks won't run outside the IDE

Question

I've been learning programming with C and have made some starter programs using CodeBlocks. The problem is that I can't run the application files that are saved in bin\debug by double right clicking on them. Instead, I have to open the project file and hit "Run" or "Build and Run" to do so. Is there a way to fix this?

Answer 1

Firstly, "double click" means "double (left) click" and not "double (right) click".

Even if your machine does support "double right click" to open a file, the following could be a problem.

Consider a small program like this:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    printf("Hello World");
    return 0;
}

You can see its results when you run it inside the IDE because it waits for you to "press any key" before terminating it.

But when you run it outside the IDE, the program is terminated immediately at the end of main. The program will open, execute, and terminate before even you realizing it. It happens very quickly. In case of programs dealing with user inputs, you can see the intermediate results though.

Solution:

An easy fix is to add getchar() to the end of main. It will wait for you to press the enter key in order to quit the console application.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    printf("Hello World");
    getchar(); // <-- add this line of code
    return 0;
}

You can also have a more controlled termination by making your own exit function.

For example, if your program leaves a newline in the buffer before calling the getchar, it would consume the '\n' and not wait for you to press the enter key. In that case, you should clear the input buffer:

// clear the input buffer
char ch;
while ((ch = getchar()) != '\n' && ch != EOF);

// then call getchar
getchar();