Both CLI and GUI application

Question

I am writing an application that has both CLI and GUI.

I read most questions and articles regarding it, and found highly usefull this question:

Can one executable be both a console and GUI application?

My final code looks like:

        if (args.Length > 0)
        {
            //console code            
        }
        else
        {
            FreeConsole();
            Application.EnableVisualStyles();
            Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
            Application.Run(new Form());
        }

This works great when running the .exe by double click, or when debugging, or from console with arguments.

However, when running it from the console with no arguments, the GUI is opened, like I intended, but the console is stuck waiting for the GUI to close.

This is uncharacteristic GUI and console behavior. the console usually launch the GUI and not wait to its exit, but for new commands.

Is there is a way to avoid it?

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 13 '12 at 11:01

The accepted answer in the question you linked to contains this passage:

Junfeng's second technique is what ildasm uses. He quotes the process that ildasm's author went through when making it run in both modes. Ultimately, here's what the it does:

The program is marked as a console-mode binary, so it always starts out with a console. This allows input and output redirection to work as normal. If the program has no console-mode command-line parameters, it re-launches itself. It's not enough to simply call FreeConsole to make the first instance cease to be a console program. That's because the process that started the program, cmd.exe, "knows" that it started a console-mode program and is waiting for the program to stop running. Calling FreeConsole would make ildasm stop using the console, but it wouldn't make the parent process start using the console.

To me it looks like the headache of having a binary trying to switch between the console subsystem and GUI subsystem (which really isn't allowed) is more effort than it's worth.

One approach would be to have a separate GUI application .exe. Whenever the console app is started without parameters it launches the GUI app and closes itself.

To prevent code duplication this probably requires all the actual logic of the application to be put in a separate class library.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 13 '12 at 11:02

THe usual way to do this is to abstract presentation from logic and then have two exes, one CLI, one GUI, not to have one that could be either. Going down that route leaves you with some sort of awful compromise with the benefits of neither approach. GUI with command line options is not a CLI app, it's a GUI with an invisble / short lived window.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 01 '15 at 11:39

Best approach to write application working in GUI/CLI/CUI/Network mode is using libgreattao.

Search for it on sourceforge.net.

Libgreattao decouples business logic and communication mechanism, so you can put libgreattao related code everywhere in your program.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 13 '12 at 11:02

Maybe is not an answer to your direct question, but with this dual solution you are asking for trouble :) This is a hack that will work in some cases, but in other not.

Proper solution would be exclude functionality and application logic in separate class library and then from both console and GUI application call that "engine". Put all that three projects in one Visual Studio solution. All functionality and vast majority of code should be in that class library, GUI and console projects would only deal with that specific aspects that depends on environment (eg. button click event would only be in GUI app etc.)

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 13 '12 at 11:19

0

This looks correct. You launch a command that only returns when the application is stopped.

If you don't want to wait for it to return, start it in a new thread. (ThreadPool, Thread, Task, async/await in C#5.0 => pick your favorite).

answered Mar 13 '12 at 11:19

Louis Kottmann

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I thoght about it and tried to do it, using a thread and declaring it with IsBackground=false, but it didn't change anything, it still waited for the application to exit. – sara Mar 13 '12 at 11:26

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 13 '12 at 11:28

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Need to start a gui application from console without stuck the console? From the command prompt type:

start "[title not necessary for gui exe]" "full path to .exe"

See here

answered Mar 13 '12 at 11:28

Alberto De Caro

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GUI applications return immediately anyway. No need to use `start`. That's only necessary for console applications. – Joey Mar 13 '12 at 11:31
the start command prevents the cmd prompt to wait for the end of process – Alberto De Caro Mar 13 '12 at 11:33
As I said, it won't wait for GUI applications anyway. Try `notepad` or something similar. – Joey Mar 13 '12 at 11:53

Both CLI and GUI application

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