- 1 year ago
Entry point and main method in PE executable Windows
In a Portable Executable (PE) executable on Windows, the entry point is the address where the execution of the program begins. The entry point is typically specified in the header of the PE file and is usually an RVA (Relative Virtual Address) within the file's code section.
The entry point is responsible for initializing the program, setting up the runtime environment, and invoking the main method or entry function of the application.
In the case of a C or C++ program, the entry point is usually the main
function, which serves as the program's starting point. The main
function is typically defined as:
cppint main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
// Program logic goes here
return 0;
}
The main
function receives command-line arguments (argc
and argv
) and returns an integer value indicating the exit status of the program.
In other programming languages or frameworks, such as C#, the entry point may be different. For example, in a C# console application, the entry point is typically the Main
method within a designated class:
csharpclass Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Program logic goes here
}
}
The Main
method in C# serves a similar purpose as the main
function in C/C++.
The specific entry point and main method will depend on the programming language and framework you are using to build your PE executable. The compiler or build tool you are using should handle the generation of the appropriate entry point based on your code structure and configuration.