Is main() overloaded in C++?

2 valid versions of main() exist in C++:

int main()  // version 1
int main(int argc, char **argv)  // version 2

But both overloads cannot coexist at the same time. Why not? (Potential use case: while running the program from the terminal, if no arguments are passed the first version is called, otherwise the second version is.)

Does the compiler perform a special check to allow just one version per binary?

Solution 1:

§3.6.1/2 (C++03) says

An implementation shall not predefine the main function. This function shall not be overloaded. It shall have a return type of type int, but otherwise its type is implementation-defined. All implementations shall allow both of the following definitions of main:

   int main() { /* ... */ }
   int main(int argc, char* argv[]) { /* ... */ }

You can use either of them. Both are standard compliant.

Also, since char *argv[] is equivalent to char **argv, replacing char *argv[] with char **argv doesn't make any difference.

But both the versions cannot co-exist at the same time ! (use case can be like: while running the binary from command prompt, if you pass no argument then 1st version should be called else the 2nd version).

No. Both versions cannot co-exist at the same time. One program can have exactly one main function. Which one, depends on your choice. If you want to process command-line argument, then you've to choose the second version, or else first version is enough. Also note that if you use second version, and don't pass any command line argument, then there is no harm in it. It will not cause any error. You just have to interpret argc and argv accordingly, and based on their value, you've to write the logic and the flow of your program.

Solution 2:

Windows and Unix have:

int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)

and Win32 apps have:

int WinMain (HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow);

and MacOS has:

int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp, char **apple)

Don't forget that main is not usually the first thing the OS calls when executing a program. The main function is the function that is called by the run time environment. The address of the first instruction to execute is usually declared in some meta data, usually at the start if the executable file.

None of the above contradicts the C/C++ standard as far as I can tell, as long as there is only one, which makes sense since the OS wouldn't know which to call if there were more than one. Checking there is only one is not done in the compiler, it is done in the linker.