Exec
Temporarily transfers execution to an external program
Syntax
`
Declare Function Exec ( ByRef program As Const String, ByRef arguments As Const String ) As Long
`
Usage
`
result = Exec( program, arguments )
`
Parameters
`program`
The file name (including file path) of the program (executable) to transfer control to.
`arguments`
The command-line arguments to be passed to the program.
Return Value
The exit status of the program, or negative one (-1) if the program could not be executed.
Description
Transfers control over to an external program. When the program exits, execution resumes immediately after the call to `Exec`.
Example
`
'A Windows based example but the same idea applies to Linux
Const exename = "NoSuchProgram.exe"
Const cmdline = "arg1 arg2 arg3"
Dim result As Long
result = Exec( exename, cmdline )
If result = -1 Then
Print "Error running "; exename
Else
Print "Exit code:"; result
End If
`
Platform Differences

- Linux requires the program case matches the real name of the file. Windows and DOS are case insensitive. The program being executed may be case sensitive for its command line parameters.
- Path separators in Linux are forward slashes / . Windows uses backward slashes \ but it allows for forward slashes . DOS uses backward \ slashes.
- Exit code is limited to 8 bits in DOS.

Dialect Differences

- Not available in the -lang qb dialect unless referenced with the alias `__Exec`.

Differences from QB

- New to FreeBASIC

See also

- `Chain` transfer temporarily, without arguments
- `Run` one-way transfer
- `Command` pick arguments