Thread: how to properly call an executable from C code?

Hi,

I have an external executable program( eg. prog.exe) that I will like to call from within my main program consisting of C code.

prog.exe will do some work and prints the output to a temp.txt file for my main program to use for analysis later.

Currently I have a function like:

Code:

int dowork()
{
     ......
     int retv;

     //in command prompt it is executed as C:> prog.exe options
     retv = system("prog.exe options");  
     if(retv != 0)
         return 1;
}

So far it is able to print the results to the text file. However there are issues which I need some advice.

1. My main program that calls prog.exe is a GUI program.If I call it this way a command prompt window will pop-up promptly then closes,which I think not so nice to be like this. Therefore,is there another better way which I can do the same without having the command prompt window popping up and close?

2. I need to ensure also that prog.exe has finished writing to the text file before my main program reads the file.Will there be any issue using system()?

3. How can I properly check if prog.exe has been executed successfully or having errors,since it is an external executable program?

fyi,I am using windows xp and mingw.
Thanks in advanced.

How about

Code:

_spawnl(P_WAIT, path, path, filename, buffer, NULL);

(Microsoft Visual Studio C++)
I believe it returns whatever the executable program returns as a condition code.

system() is crappy and must not never be called
Use any Win32 api (ShellExecute, CreateProcess, etc... (some dozens))