I'm very new to programming, so be nice. I was using Eclipse for C/C++ devs for a while, but it seemed quite buggy so I was advised to switch to Visual Studio Express. I'm just testing out with a simple "Hello World" program #include <iostream> #include <string> using namespace std; int main( int argc, char ** argv ) { string response; cout << "Gimme a string: " << flush; cin >> response; cout << "The string is: " << response << endl; system("pause"); return 0; } not much to go wrong there anyway, I noticed that there is no "console" like in Eclipse. All of the text pops up in a little command prompt window. And, also, this window closes right after displaying new text if there is no other things to do after it (like a cin). I have been told that I can use system("pause") but there has to be a better way. In Eclipse, the text would not suddenly disappear because the console window closed. i know this question might be a little confusing, comment and I'll try to explain what I'm saying. Or paste the codes into your Visual Studio 2012 Express Edition. But is there a way to display all of my text and whatever in a "console" as opposed to a command prompt-type window; and why does it always close before I can read the last thing?