/ENTRY (Entry-Point Symbol)
/ENTRY:function
Remarks
where:
- function
A function that specifies a user-defined starting address for an .exe file or DLL.
Remarks
The /ENTRY option specifies an entry point function as the starting address for an .exe file or DLL.
The function must be defined with the __stdcall calling convention. The parameters and return value depend on if the program is a console application, a windows application or a DLL. It is recommended that you let the linker set the entry point so that the C run-time library is initialized correctly, and C++ constructors for static objects are executed.
By default, the starting address is a function name from the C run-time library. The linker selects it according to the attributes of the program, as shown in the following table.
Function name |
Default for |
|---|---|
mainCRTStartup (or wmainCRTStartup) |
An application using /SUBSYSTEM:CONSOLE; calls main (or wmain) |
WinMainCRTStartup (or wWinMainCRTStartup) |
An application using /SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS; calls WinMain (or wWinMain), which must be defined with __stdcall |
_DllMainCRTStartup |
A DLL; calls DllMain, which must be defined with __stdcall, if it exists |
If the /DLL or /SUBSYSTEM option is not specified, the linker selects a subsystem and entry point depending on whether main or WinMain is defined.
The functions main, WinMain, and DllMain are the three forms of the user-defined entry point.
When creating a managed image, the function specified with /ENTRY must have a signature of (LPVOID var1, DWORD var2, LPVOID var3).
For information on how to define your own DllMain entry point, see Run-Time Library Behavior .
To set this linker option in the Visual Studio development environment
Open the project's Property Pages dialog box. For details, see Setting Visual C++ Project Properties.
Click the Linker folder.
Click the Advanced property page.
Modify the Entry Point property.
To set this linker option programmatically
- See EntryPointSymbol.