How to launch DOS program?

[Simon666]

Hello all, I would like to know if and how it is possible to launch a DOS program from my SDI program running in Windows 2000. The program is called allowio.exe and in DOS prompt the command to run it properly is:

allowio test.bat /a

Any thoughts on what command to use and how to include the parameters ("test.bat /a")?

[NigelQ]

There are a variety of methods available.

You could simply make a system call:

system("allowio test.bat /a");

...although this method is probably not PC these days.

There's the spawn functions, with a likely candidate for your needs being:

_spawnlp( _P_WAIT, "allowio", "allowio", "test.bat", "/a", NULL );


There are others too, _exec, ShellExecute. I'm sure there are more...

Hope this helps,

- Nigel

[ADSOFT]

What if you have a dos program and you want to launch a Windows program.

Is there a switch the you can set on the compiler to lauch the program from command.com????

[Andreas Masur]

Hello all, I would like to know if and how it is possible to launch a DOS program from my SDI program running in Windows 2000. The program is called allowio.exe and in DOS prompt the command to run it properly is:

allowio test.bat /a

Any thoughts on what command to use and how to include the parameters ("test.bat /a")?

Take a look at the following FAQ...

[Andreas Masur]

What if you have a dos program and you want to launch a Windows program.

Well...what operating system? If it is 16-bit, I would go with 'WinExec()'...otherwise use one of the methods described in the FAQ I posted in my previous reply...

[ADSOFT]

The operationg system is dos, we are basically running it under 95/98/XP out of a dos box right now.


We want to shell out to some window app though.

[Simon666]

Okay, it works with:

_spawnlp( _P_WAIT, "allowio", "allowio", "test.bat", "/a", NULL );

but I have the problem it blocks my application till I close the launched DOS application down, while both are supposed to run simultaneously. Anyone knows how to launch a DOS program as a seperate thread?

[UnderDog]

How about calling it asynchronously!! Pass the first parameter as _P_NOWAIT or _P_NOWAITO, and check MSDN for description!!

[Simon666]

Nevermind my stupidity, I found it out already. _P_NOWAIT indeed. MSDN doesn't really describe _P_NOWAIT with _spawnlp by the way.

[UnderDog]

yeah, sorry about that. The MSDN indeed is missing the descriptions.