How to use exec() on Windows with MSVC++?

To use the exec() function on Windows with MSVC++ (Microsoft Visual C++), you can utilize the CreateProcess() function, which is a Windows API for creating a new process. Here's an example of how you can achieve this:

cppCopy code
#include <Windows.h>

#include <iostream>



int main() {

    const char* command = "notepad.exe";  // Command to be executed



    // Create process parameters

    STARTUPINFO si;

    PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;



    ZeroMemory(&si, sizeof(si));

    si.cb = sizeof(si);

    ZeroMemory(&pi, sizeof(pi));



    // Create the process

    if (CreateProcess(NULL,   // Module name (use NULL for the current executable)

        const_cast<LPSTR>(command),  // Command to be executed

        NULL,   // Process handle not inheritable

        NULL,   // Thread handle not inheritable

        FALSE,  // Set handle inheritance to FALSE

        0,      // No creation flags

        NULL,   // Use parent's environment block

        NULL,   // Use parent's starting directory

        &si,    // Pointer to STARTUPINFO structure

        &pi))   // Pointer to PROCESS_INFORMATION structure

    {

        // Wait for the process to complete (optional)

        WaitForSingleObject(pi.hProcess, INFINITE);



        // Close process and thread handles

        CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);

        CloseHandle(pi.hThread);

    }

    else {

        std::cerr << "Failed to execute command: " << command << std::endl;

        return 1;

    }



    return 0;

}

In this example, we execute the notepad.exe command using CreateProcess(). You can replace "notepad.exe" with the desired command or the path to an executable file.

Make sure to include the necessary header files, <Windows.h> and <iostream>. Also, handle any error conditions appropriately, such as when CreateProcess() fails.

Please note that the exec() function is not a standard C++ function and is commonly found in Unix-like systems. On Windows, you typically use the Windows API functions like CreateProcess() for similar functionality.