View final console output when run from Visual Studio, without ReadLine()

Question

I'm debugging my console application with redirected input from a file (Debug / Start Options / Command line arguments < "filename.in"). That means I cannot use the usual ReadLine() / Read() / ReadKey() to keep the console window open after executing, because those would try to read the input from the file.

My current solution is a Sleep(), can you provide better alternatives?

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Threading;
using static System.Console;

class Test
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        WriteLine("some output");

        if (Debugger.IsAttached) Thread.Sleep(Timeout.Infinite);
    }
}

Instead of checking for the debugger or #if DEBUG, I could also check for some addtional command line argument which I only pass from within Visual Studio. This has the advantage that it would work when run without debugging (but then I don't know how to redirect input).

Another alternative is a breakpoint at the end, but then my window is put to the background and I need a click to view it.

The last alternative is redirecting the output as well, and viewing it in a file tab. But somehow there is no way to refresh it easily.

Since VS2019, there is a new option Debugging / General / Automatically close the console, but unchecking it doesn't seem to work when input is redirected, too. I say this is a bug.

So I'm looking for better ways. Extra points for not needing any using like above :)

Answer 1

If you use Visual Studio 2019 (I don't know other version will work), You can do by Tools->Options->Debugging-> Uncheck Automatically close the console when debugging stops.