AttachConsole() may be used to get a hold of the parents console.
E.g. if the application is started from a cmdline shell, AllocConsole() can be avoided:
if not AttachConsole(ATTACH_PARENT_PROCESS)
then AllocConsole;
More info here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms681952(v=vs.85).aspx
