System call in C++

[badwun]

is there a way to pass a variable and a string into system() at the same time?

[ihsir]

no i don't think so system() only takes a string which is usually a command.

what exactly are you trying?

[KublaiKhan]

Perhaps, if you used C style syntax, you could do system("commandname %s", variablename);

However, take that with a grain of salt.......I've never tried it; it's just theory on my part.

[smirc]

I think you want something like this:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <iostream>

int main() {

    char* command;
    char* dir = "/home";

    // this is the system command to run
    sprintf(command, "ls %s", dir);

    system(command);

    return 0;
}

Hope this helps .

[ihsir]

smirc:
does that coding work in c++?

[smirc]

does that coding work in c++?

As a general rule, all C code will work in C++ since C++ is meant to be a superset of C. To use C functions, you just include the name of the C header file + ".h". In the example I've included the C library stdio.h.

Note:
1. Usually the compiler links in stdio by default but I was jus trying to illustrate the concept. It depends on the compiler but most modern ones do this.

2. If the compiler doesn't like the char*parameter being passed to system() you'll have to cast the char* to a string.

3. I'm not sure if system is an ANSI C++ function. Can anyone clarify this?

[badwun]

I guess I'll read a little about C syntax.

Thx for the help, esp. smirc for the example.

Btw, about what I was tryin to do.. I have several diferent applications in mind that this problem was impeaving me from creating. One small example is a program that cleans your 'recent' dir on windows so you can watch porn and remove the evidence. lol. I completed a personal version but I wanted to make one that could act on a user name entered through cin or argv so I could distribute it to my friends w/o writing multiple copies.

eg.
system("rm c:\windoze\profiles\", usrname, "\recent\*.*");