Set custom EntryPoint for a simple application

Question

I have this simple hello world c++ application:

#include <windows.h>
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

void test()
{
    cout << "Hello world" << endl;
}

I want to use test as my custom entry point. So far I tried to set Linker -> Advanced -> Entrypoint to test But I got lots of lnk2001 errors. Is it possible to somehow remove any main() wmain() WinMain() and use my function with just Visual studio settings?

Answer 1

Using a custom entry point in a Windows app bypasses the entire CRT startup and global C++ initializations. Because of that, it requires not using the CRT, and turning off compiler features that depend on the CRT such as /GS buffer checks and other /RTC run-time error checks.

The following is an example of a minimal app with the custom entry point test.

#include <sdkDdkVer.h>
#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
#include <windows.h>

// compile with /GS- lest
// LNK2001: unresolved external symbol @__security_check_cookie@4
//#pragma strict_gs_check(off)

// turn off /RTC*
#pragma runtime_checks("", off)

#pragma comment(linker, "/nodefaultlib /subsystem:windows /ENTRY:test")

int __stdcall test(void)
{
    OutputDebugStringA("custom /entry:test\n");

    ExitProcess(0);
}

More insight can be found in Raymond Chen's WinMain is just the conventional name for the Win32 process entry point.