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How to redirect Standard Input/Output of an application

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27 Apr 20074 min read 356.2K   15.5K   117   38
This articles demonstrates how to redirect Standard Input/Output of an application.

Introduction

I was working in a project, and I needed to start a secondary process from an application and pass from the application, the needed parameters and inputs to the secondary process and also capture all possible output and errors from the secondary process. I also did not want the exceptions and crashes from the secondary process to be directly displayed to the user. This article briefly expalins how I achieved this. I had to control the standard input, standard output, and the standard error of the secondary process.

Here is an example of my code in action. The shutdown proces is invoked from my application, and it displays the output from the process. As we did not provide an option or parameter for the secondary process, it captures the standard output and displays it.

Screenshot - ProcessStartDemo.png

I made use of the Process class in System.Diagnostics which can start a process for you. (Most of the people know about this, but they don't relaize the extent to which it can help). I will explain the process in a step by step manner with code snippets so that you can understand it easily.

Using the code

Step 1 : Create a ProcessStartInfo object. This is used to execute the executable. ProcessStartInfo has three constructors. You can use any one of them, or you can specify the file name and argument at a later stage (but before starting the process).

C#
ProcessStartInfo processStartInfo = 
  new ProcessStartInfo(executableName, executableParameter);
  • executableName is the full path of the executable. If the executable is placed in a location which is registered in the environment variable, you may omit the full path and specify the executable name.
  • executableParameter is the list of parameters to the executable. The application will be launched with these parameters.

Now, by default, the framework invokes the application using Shell Execute. Set the property UseShellExecute to false.You also need to set the ErrorDialog property to false. So why set the UseShellExecute as false? From the MSDN documentation, you can find that, by default, the shell is used to start the process. Now, to capture the input/output/error, we need to create the process directly from the executable. By doing this, if the application is exposing any input/output/error, we can get in that.

C#
processStartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
processStartInfo.ErrorDialog = false;

Step 2 : Now, the most important thing comes; we need to set the redirecting properties to true. Set it according to your convenience. However, you can use any other application.

C#
processStartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
processStartInfo.RedirectStandardInput = true;
processStartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;

Step 3 : Now that things are done, we are ready to capture the input/output/error. Start the process.

C#
Process process = new Process();
process.StartInfo = processStartInfo;
bool processStarted = process.Start();

Step 4 : Capture the input /output /error streams for your use. Note that the input stream is a writer. For giving input, you need to write the input string in the input stream.

C#
StreamWriter inputWriter = process.StandardInput;
StreamReader outputReader = process.StandardOutput;
StreamReader errorReader = process.StandardError;
process.WaitForExit();

Step 5: You are done; use the streams as needed.

Points of interest

The code is simple enough to understand. But these are the points which can help you to understand the Process.

  • WaitForExit() function will wait till the application exits.
  • In the demo application, I have not used the input stream. You can use this as well for giving input to the application.
  • Process.Start() method returns a bool value which indicates that the process has been started successfully.
  • Process.ExitCode returns an error code returned by the process. If it is 0, the process exited without error. This may be helpful for the users in some scenario.
  • EnableRaisingEvents property enables you to raise the Exited event. So if you want to make use of the Exited event, make sure to assign it to true.
  • ProcessStartInfo.ErrorDialog allows you to set if an error message will be displayed or not if the process is not started successfully.
  • You can provide a domain name, username, and password for the process in the ProcessStartInfo object.
  • ProcessStartInfo.CreateNoWindow allows you to create a process without creating a window.

History

This is the first release of the code. Modifications and feature enhancements will be done on requests. I request users to mail me directly to my email address for any suggestions. In this demo, I have not used the input stream; if you are having trouble with it, then message me and I will provide a sample for that also.

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here


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Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionHow to do this during a running process??? Pin
SiL3NC3-SWX11-Jun-18 4:08
SiL3NC3-SWX11-Jun-18 4:08 
Questionprogress bar for redirection Pin
memoarfaa19-Mar-16 6:08
memoarfaa19-Mar-16 6:08 
BugThis may have a buffer problem Pin
Frank Peelo10-Jun-13 5:15
Frank Peelo10-Jun-13 5:15 
GeneralRe: This may have a buffer problem Pin
Member 108720229-Nov-14 16:48
Member 108720229-Nov-14 16:48 
QuestionCan we run a Java Programme From this Code Pin
sanjeev46713-Apr-13 5:13
sanjeev46713-Apr-13 5:13 
SuggestionRe: Can we run a Java Programme From this Code Pin
Frank Peelo10-Jun-13 5:22
Frank Peelo10-Jun-13 5:22 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
rafapucci20-Feb-13 6:21
rafapucci20-Feb-13 6:21 
QuestionNeed help on getting output of cdefrag.exe Pin
vantoora28-Jan-13 2:18
vantoora28-Jan-13 2:18 
GeneralGreat article!! Pin
petite_paola13-Jul-12 1:38
petite_paola13-Jul-12 1:38 
QuestionReading standard input Pin
Member 864852515-Feb-12 1:49
Member 864852515-Feb-12 1:49 
Questionreal time shell , not asynchrone Pin
demotesttest25-Dec-11 4:30
demotesttest25-Dec-11 4:30 
QuestionCan you help me ! Pin
All Time Programming16-Feb-11 5:36
All Time Programming16-Feb-11 5:36 
QuestionHow to simulate the pipe | operator? like "type blabla.txt|abc.exe" Pin
atommaki1-Oct-08 21:21
atommaki1-Oct-08 21:21 
GeneralNow working when executing application needs an input... Pin
masaniparesh8-Apr-08 1:38
masaniparesh8-Apr-08 1:38 
QuestionCan I use this technique to start a process on a server Pin
SBendBuckeye18-Oct-07 4:42
SBendBuckeye18-Oct-07 4:42 
GeneralRedirected Standard Output - Problem Pin
Tanushree Paul5-Sep-07 20:29
Tanushree Paul5-Sep-07 20:29 
Generaluse of redirection opertor Pin
Durgesh Gupta13-Aug-07 2:43
Durgesh Gupta13-Aug-07 2:43 
GeneralRe: use of redirection opertor Pin
dibbs10-Oct-07 2:12
dibbs10-Oct-07 2:12 
GeneralRe: use of redirection opertor Pin
victorbos12-Jun-12 2:11
victorbos12-Jun-12 2:11 
Generalsbs2003 problem Pin
DeniroSA2-Aug-07 3:24
DeniroSA2-Aug-07 3:24 
QuestionStandard Input in windows forms? Pin
sansweb18-Jul-07 11:15
sansweb18-Jul-07 11:15 
GeneralVery nice - but ... Pin
P_R_Sousa11-Jun-07 2:55
P_R_Sousa11-Jun-07 2:55 
GeneralRe: Very nice - but ... Pin
tw34ky14-Jul-07 5:21
tw34ky14-Jul-07 5:21 
Questioncan we pass user defined parameters Pin
Padoor Shiras17-May-07 20:44
Padoor Shiras17-May-07 20:44 
AnswerRe: can we pass user defined parameters Pin
Manish Ranjan Kumar17-May-07 22:08
professionalManish Ranjan Kumar17-May-07 22:08 

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