command prompt return immediately when running console application

command prompt return immediately when running console application

• Elliot Rodriguez

  sean_n wrote:

  when i run other apps from the same shell (win xp command prompt), i get the prompt back immediately. how do i make my C# app work in the same fashion

  Just return the Main method and your program will exit.

  
  
  

• Vyanki

  I really don't understand your problem i geus, because it depends on the application you launche how fast it will give output and closes.
  
  If the process writes to the standart output stream, you can read it with the code i gave. I don't understand your problem with 'prompt back immediately', you want to continue the process on the background and start the next one or do you want to wait till the started process is finished and then start the next one
  
  
  

• Darren Dmello

  oh oh! sorry guys but i made a major mistake. i wrote "console application", but what i meant to write was "windows app launched from the console". i'll open another thread and phrase it correctly.
  
  

• themicks

  it works. two things: you need to create a second app (launcher) and as far as I tried the app wasn't able to produce any console output. but if no need of console output, I agree with PJ. van de Sande about, develop a service that will run in the background.

  regards.

  
  

• Florida Keys Coder

  can you specify those apps or give some examples what is the output of those apps what do those apps do maybe you get the prompt back immediately because those apps you are running have a short live because they do small tasks but as far as I know it is not possible to run various command-line apps at the same time from the same console as if it were unix.

  regards.

  
  

• Mark Ipoeng

  Hi. The responsables of doing that are the shell and the OS not the C# language or the .Net framework. The OS because it must support Multitaksing (ms-dos does not) and the shell because it must do some system calls, ex fork (not exists in ms-dos) and exec, in order to provide that functionality.

  Regards.

  
  

• Ed Hintz

  For furter discussion, please use your other new thread: running C# windows app from the console does not return prompt immediately.
  
  I will close this one, so we don't gonne discusse this on multiple places.
  
  
  

• -- sam --

  Then you can just use my code i posted as last.
  
  
  

• omerkaan

  If the process has a output on the standard output stream you can read it to:
  
  

  ProcessStartInfo startinfo = new ProcessStartInfo( @"c:\myapp.exe" ); startinfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden; startinfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true; Process process = Process.Start( startinfo ); process.WaitForExit(); using( StreamReader reader = process.StandardOutput ) { Console.WriteLine( "Output of started process:\r\n" + reader.ReadToEnd() ); }

  
  
  
  

• ecomajor

  Thanks I'll try your method of creating a launcher app. But actually, it's not so much that I wanted my app to work in the background, but rather i wanted the convenience of getting the prompt back immediately so I can continue entering other commands.

  I guess I'm more used to traditional winapi development where if you created a windows application, you couldn't write output to the console and you would get the prompt back immediately. is it different with managed applications i noticed that with C# apps, you have the best of both worlds, you can display a GUI and also write to the console. is the reason why we don't get the prompt back immediately because the app can write to the console
  

  is there a way to get the prompt back w/o a launcher app

  
  
  

• navisoft

  You can execute an process without visability, see the code sample below. But i think you better can develop a service that will run in the background.
  
  

  ProcessStartInfo startinfo = new ProcessStartInfo( @"c:\myapp.exe" ); startinfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden; Process.Start( startinfo )

  
  
  
  

• kmtracker

  when i run other apps from the same shell (win xp command prompt), i get the prompt back immediately. how do i make my C# app work in the same fashion
  
  
• command prompt return immediately when running console application