What's the Difference Between `main()` and `_tmain()` in C Regarding Command-Line Arguments?

What is the Disparity Between _tmain() and main() in C ?

When using C , you may employ either main() or _tmain() for program entry. While both serve a similar purpose, there's a crucial distinction that alters the way they process arguments.

Understanding main()

According to the C standard, main is the designated entry point for programs. It adheres to one of two signatures:

int main();
int main(int argc, char* argv[]);

Where argc denotes the number of command-line arguments, and argv is an array of character arrays containing the arguments.

Delving into _tmain()

_tmain, on the other hand, is a Microsoft-specific extension that simplifies the transition between Unicode (UTF-16) and multibyte character sets. If Unicode is enabled, _tmain is compiled as wmain, otherwise it's compiled as main.

Uncovering the Argument Discrepancy

The issue arises because your _tmain function is not properly defined. Wmain is designed to accept wchar_t arguments, not char arguments. Since the compiler doesn't enforce this rule for main, an array of wchar_t strings is passed to your main function, which interprets them as char strings.

UTF-16, the character set used in Windows with Unicode enabled, represents ASCII characters as pairs of bytes:

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