🚀 go-pugleaf

> > I have 2 console programs that, in DOS, can be "piped"
> > one into the other -
> >     prog1 | prog2
> >
> > How can this be done in windows using createprocess
> > for each console prog ?
> >
> > createprocess(prog1, ...)
> > createprocess(prog2, ...)
>
> The redirection is done by the command processor (cmd.exe on NT
platforms), so
> you could simply execute the commend processor with the same command line
you
> would use in a DOS box and let it do the work. I recommend using full
pathes
> for the programs, enclosed in double quotes.
>
>  Procedure ExecuteShellCommand( cmdline: String; hidden: Boolean );
>    Const
>      flags : Array [Boolean] of Integer = (SW_SHOWNORMAL, SW_HIDE);
>    Var
>      cmdbuffer: Array [0..1024] of Char;
>    Begin
>      GetEnvironmentVariable( 'COMSPEC', cmdBUffer, Sizeof(cmdBuffer));
>      StrCat( cmdbuffer, ' /C ');
>      StrPCopy( StrEnd(cmdbuffer), cmdline );
>      WinExec( cmdbuffer, flags[hidden] );
>    End;
>
> Doing it yourself may be possible but would be somewhat cumbersome. You
can
> specify handles for stdin and stdout for the programs you want to start
via
> CreateProcess in the STARTUPINFO record. One typically uses a pipe handle
for
> this.
>
> > It's connecting the output of progr1 to prog2 that I don't
> > understand how to do. It is above my current knowledge but I'm trying to
> > learn. If you could provide a simple code example to illustrate the
> > explanation it would be appreciated.
>
> Well, i have never played with that myself, but it may work to open the
pipe
> for both read and write, attach it to the stdin of program2 and stdout of
> program 1, launch both programs and wait for number 2 to finish.
>
> --
> Peter Below (TeamB)

Thanks for the reply Peter.

I think I need to learn more before I post this problem.
I don't think I know enough to describe it in a way that
makes sense.

There are several front-ends for these console programs
and none of them rely on executing batch files.

Most of the GUIs are for Linux but of the 2 obscure ones for
Windows/Cygwin, only one makes the source code
available. It is in C/C++ and being inexperienced
I cannot decipher it very well. But I can tell that
they use some kind of stream & buffer combination.
The end result is just as fast as doing it from a batch
file but with the convenience of having a GUI automate
all the commandline switches.

I guess I have to break down and get a book on Delphi
programming. I'll post this problem again when I know
more.

Bill Mudd