The sytem(); function

**alexnb185** · 03-18-2008

Hello anyone who is reading this. The question I have seems simple, and may be. I just doint' know. Okay, so all I want to do is have my program open up a batch file on my desktop. The command would be like CD Desktop [enter] START batch.bat [enter]. Only, I can't seem to get to the desktop to open it up. What I was doing was something like this:

Code:

System("Cd Desktop");

Now, this doesn't work obviously. But basically what I am asking is either how to navigate and then open it. Or, how to make two "system();" functions connected, as to make one CD Desktop and the other START batch.bat. This may not be possible at all. But I think you guys will understand what I am trying to do.

Thanks!

**Dave_Sinkula** · 03-18-2008

Why not this?

Code:

system("path/to/file/file.bat");

**alexnb185** · 03-18-2008

Ah, good idea, I'll try it. Anyone else got any other ways you know it would work?

**alexnb185** · 03-18-2008

Nope, that did not work. Due to the spaces. I remember making a program once that played an mp3 in the same directory on Ubuntu, but ran into the same problem. The only fix I found was to rename the file w/o any spaces. So who knows how to fix it now? haha just another problem. Oh and the path that is messing it up is "Documents and Settings"......lame

**zacs7** · 03-18-2008

Quotes, or escape the spaces,

ie, "cd C:\Documents and Settings\blah" becomes "cd \"C:\Documents and Settings\blah\""

What does your program do? There's usually better ways than using system()

**Dave_Sinkula** · 03-18-2008

Code:

system("\"c:\\path with spaces\\file.bat\"); /* ? */

**alexnb185** · 03-18-2008

Ha! thanks Dave, and it was the combination of things so zac you were just missing the double "\\." Anyway, I basically just figured out how to do batch, and wanted a program to open a program. Anyways what is your better way of doing it than using system() zac?

**zacs7** · 03-18-2008

If you want a program to open a program? I'd use CreateProcess().

**alexnb185** · 03-19-2008

Well, I say that lightly. I wanted it to open a Batch file. Which isn't really a program CreateProcess looks like it is .exe's.

**dwks** · 03-19-2008

system() is probably fine for this sort of thing. CreateProcess() lets you "open" .txt files and folders and so on, using whatever the default program is. You can do this with system, too, by using "start".

Code:

system("start readme.txt");

Opening .bat or .exe or .com files can be done with either function, however, with no special finangling.

**alexnb185** · 03-19-2008

Okay, so now that we have gotten through that problem, another question has arrised. How can I tell i there was an error in the system(); function. Because as far as I can tell, it doesn't return anything. Now I know it will pop up with a box that is like You Suck! But I mean like so I can base an if statement on whether or not it was able to open the .bat successfully or not. Help please?

**kcpilot** · 03-19-2008

You could always wrap an "if statement" around your system() call, couldn't you?

**alexnb185** · 03-19-2008

Well, what good would that do? I want to be able to see if the system(); function worked, if so I want something to happen. I don't see how an if statement would work. Maybe I am wrong. Explain it if you know it works.

**vart** · 03-19-2008

system returns non-zero value if it failed
system returns return value of the program when succeded

if the program itsefl returns non-zero value - it is slightly hard to distinguish between failed system call and failed program

**alexnb185** · 03-20-2008

Ah, O.K. thanks. I didn't know it had a return value.

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