Start and kill program from within program

So I have a subprogram that I need to run at various stages throughout my main program. This program also needs to be in a separate window.

I've got the program opening with this code:

Code:

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void menu::startSerial()
{
    char szPath[] = "C:\\Dev-Cpp\\UKGS\\standAloneSerial.exe";
  PROCESS_INFORMATION pif;  //Gives info on the thread and..
                          //..process for the new process
  STARTUPINFO si;          //Defines how to start the program

  ZeroMemory(&si,sizeof(si)); //Zero the STARTUPINFO struct
  si.cb = sizeof(si);        //Must set size of structure

  BOOL bRet = CreateProcess(
        szPath, //Path to executable file
        NULL,  //Command string - not needed here
        NULL,  //Process handle not inherited
        NULL,  //Thread handle not inherited
        FALSE,  //No inheritance of handles
        0,      //No special flags
        NULL,  //Same environment block as this prog
        NULL,  //Current directory - no separate path
        &si,    //Pointer to STARTUPINFO
        &pif);  //Pointer to PROCESS_INFORMATION

  if(bRet == FALSE)
  {
    MessageBox(HWND_DESKTOP,"Unable to start program","",MB_OK);
    return ;
  }

  CloseHandle(pif.hProcess);  //Close handle to process
  CloseHandle(pif.hThread);    //Close handle to thread
  return;
}

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But it runs in the window of the main program. How do I get it into it's own separate place?


Also, I'll need to terminate this process from a completely different part of the program. What's the best way to get the handle in order to use TerminateProcess()?
Thanks a bunch.

I think you need to specify: CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP in dwCreationFlags.

I could be wrong, but from the brief description, it sounds right.

--
Mats

As for killing the process, try using TerminateProcess(...);

Quote:

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Originally Posted by matsp

I think you need to specify: CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP in dwCreationFlags.

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Thanks, this looks about right. I don't have the equipment I need to test it right now, I'll post back on if it works once I'm able to test it properly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by abachler

As for killing the process, try using TerminateProcess(...);

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I know to use TerminateProcess(), what I was asking was how to best get the handle to close it. This is much later in the program, so passing the address doesn't appeal to me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by System_159

I know to use TerminateProcess(), what I was asking was how to best get the handle to close it. This is much later in the program, so passing the address doesn't appeal to me.

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The other solution is to let the process finish by itself somehow - you either have a way to signal the process to "commit suicide", or for example have a thread in the process that looks for a file called "KillYourSelf.Now" in some particular directory. If the file exists, the process should remove the file and exit. Your starting side can watch for the file "disappearing" to see that the process has exited.

But holding on to the process handle I would see as a decent way to do it. Shouldn't be too difficult to pass in a variable to hold that and then pass that along to the TerminateProcess(). You can also find process by name - but this is somewhat flawed, as there may be other processes running with the same name.

Another option is of course to have a global variable (if need be, an array) where you store the process handle. That should be a last resort, and you need to be aware of the problems with global variables if you use this.

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Mats