Connect Java to native terminal (Solaris specifically)

Question

How can I connect to the native terminal through my own Java application?
Calling my processes using Runtime.exec does not always work because the processes usually know it is not a terminal.
Is there a way in Java to call a child as if through the terminal, or is there a way in Solaris to call a middle man process that calls the next child as if through the terminal?

Answer 1

gimbal2 wrote:
generally that is done by actually invoking the shell through runtime.exec(). I don't know what the main shell is under solaris, but under windows you would invoke CMD and under Linux you could invoke BASH for example.
Start your adventures by reading the four pages of this article carefully:
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-12-2000/jw-1229-traps.html
The fourth page shows an example of how to invoke the DIR command on windows.I started reading that document, I believe I already have all that under my belt. Perhaps I was too breif in my original question.
If you run "ps -ef | more" in Solaris, it will show you one window-full of text at a time. If you resize your window, "|more" adjusts accordingly. That is because a terminal will tell the client height and width. That is one of the features of a terminal.
If I went and ran "cp -i", it would ask if I wanted to replace any files I might be overwriting. But if I did it through System.exec() it would just overwrite because there is no terminal. (even if running through a shell like sh/bash)
"prstat -a" (Solaris) will also detect if there is a terminal and provide underlined column headers.
Java 6 has a Terminal object that is permitted to be null.
What I really want is to make these processes think they are in a terminal. I am not too particular with window height/width and don't care much about underlines/bold/blink/strike/colors. (of course better to have these than to not :) )
So how can I tell these processes they are in a terminal?