Void in main and keeping Dos program from dying

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Difference between void main and int main?

Alright, so I'm using bloodshed complier, first thing I should note is I'm using a 2001 edition C++ for the absolute beginner, was there any changes to C++ since 2001 that would effect the validity of this book? I ask because I know php has php5 and now php6 but I haven't seen any C++03.

Now for the reason I asked that, in this code it uses,

void main (void)

why would I want an argument to be void? what does this do.

But when I run the void main (void) in my compiler it says that main must have a "int" before it. So I can't have "void" main (void);

Also, once the code runs through, as long as there isn't a "cin" the program closes. Is this normal behavior, is there a better way to stop this besides making a cin at the end of my program?

Answer 1

Burn that book. Not only is void main not conformant to any C++ standard (modern or old), but declaring a parameter-less function with (void) instead of () is a C idiom that is discouraged in C++. From this sample, I shudder to think what other horrors that book might contain.

The issue with the console window closing is completely unrelated to the contents of your program. Windows has a behavior where if you launch a console program directly, it will automatically close the console window when the program ends. To avoid this, open a console window yourself, and run your program from within it. The console window will stay open as long as you want it to. (And please refrain from using the unfortunately popular practice of adding an extra dummy input or a "pause" call at the end of your program to keep the window open. You should not be adding code to your program to compensate for a particular way that you happen to be launching it; just launch it the right way and leave your poor code alone.)