exec(++Command, ++Streams, -Pid)

Command

String, atom or list of atomic terms.

Streams

List of stream ids.

Pid

Integer or a variable.

Description

Command should be a list with at least one element: The first list element (a path name in ECLiPSe path name syntax, atom or string) specifies the program to be executed, and the subsequent list elements are its arguments. The arguments can be atoms, strings or numbers. They are passed to the executed program literally (in particular, no path name syntax conversion is applied).

For backward compatibility, Command can be a simple atom or string, in which case the first word in Command specifies the program to be executed, and the following words (separated by blank space) are its command-line arguments. This form is deprecated since it creates problems with argument quoting and operating system dependent path name syntax.

By specifying the Streams argument it is possible to control which of the process' standard streams are connected to ECLiPSe streams. The form of Streams is [Stdin, Stdout, Stderr]. If some of these streams are specified and not null, a pipe is opened which connects the standard stream of the child process with the specified ECLiPSe stream, e.g. Stdin must be an output stream because it is connected to the standard input of the child process. If the list Streams is shorter, only the specified streams are connected with a pipe. The streams can be specified like for open/3. If the stream is a variable, it is bound to a stream handle, if it is an atom different from null, that symbolic stream name is used. Specifying a null stream means that no pipe is set up for this stream.

Each stream can also be specified as sigio(Stream) (UNIX systems only). In this case a pipe is set up to the stream Stream and in addition the pipe is instructed to send the signal io each time new data appears in it. In this way the two processes can communicate in a truly asynchronous way. When one process sends data to the other one, the interrupt handler is invoked and it can read and process the data. When it finishes, it can continue where it was interrupted.

After forking the process, Pid is unified with its process ID, which can be used e.g. in wait/2 or kill/2. If the exec system call in the child process failed, the child exits with status 128 + errno (Unix).

Modes and Determinism

• exec(++, ++, -) is det

Exceptions

(4) instantiation fault

Command is not instantiated.

(5) type error

Command is instantiated, but not to a string or an atom.

(5) type error

Streams is instantiated, but not to a list.

(5) type error

A stream in Streams is instantiated, but not to an atom or a sigio structure.

(5) type error

Pid is instantiated.

(170) system interface error

System error, it was not possible to fork the child.

(192) illegal stream mode

The specified stream is not open in the appropriate mode.

Examples

% execute an ls-command

    ?- exec([ls,"-C"], [null, out], Pid).
    Pid = 10885
    yes.

    ?- read_string(out, end_of_file, _, S), write(S).
    aux.o           coroutine.pl    kegi.pl         sepia.o
    bsi.pl          cprolog.pl      lint.pl         sorts.pl
    cio.pl          history.pl      lists.pl        strings.pl
    cn.pl           k_env.pl        quintus.pl      t_all.pl

    S = "..."

    ?- close(out), wait(Pid, S).
    Pid = 10885
    S = 0
    yes.


% execute another eclipse

    ?- argv(0,Ecl),	% get name of the eclipse executable
       exec([Ecl,"-e","read(X),Y is X*X,printf('%w. %b',[Y])"], [in,out], P).

    E = "/usr/local/eclipse/bin/sparc_sunos5/eclipse.exe"
    P = 10741
    yes.

    [eclipse 2]: printf(in, '%w. %b', [12]), read(out, Result).
    Result = 144
    yes.

    [eclipse 3]: close(in), close(out), wait(10741, S).
    S = 0
    yes.


Error:
      exec(S, [], Pid).          (Error 4).
      exec([ls], null, Pid).       (Error 5).
      exec([chipc], [1], P).       (Error 5).
      exec([date], [input], P).    (Error 192).

See Also