Executing command line utility

Question

Hi all,
I'm trying to use the Runtime and Process classes to launch a win32 command line utility from within my java app.
I can successfully launch the app with no arguments and have it print the help description to a JTextArea. This is the behavior of the utility if you simply call it with no arguments.
But when I call the utility with some arguments, the java app seemingly locks up and I get no input from either getInputStream() or getErrorStream()
I also tried passing the arguments to the utility in a String[] with no luck. Also tried having the Runtime.exec() function call a .bat file with no luck, even though launching the bat file directly works fine.
Does anyone know how to work with a command line utility from within java? Is it possible to have it at least pop up a console window so I can see what is going on?
Any help would greatly be appreciated..
I've read the API's and relavent topics on the forums only to find myself even more confused on whether this is possible.
Regards,
Jim

Answer 1

Well, I've been trying all sorts of combinations of the code, so it changes often.
here is what I have now..
<CODE>
     private void fetchDB()
          try
               Runtime rt = Runtime.getRuntime();
               Process p = rt.exec("pilot-xfer.exe");
               BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(p.getInputStream()));
               String s = "";
               while((s = in.readLine()) != null)
                    resultsTextArea.append(s);
               in.close();
               BufferedReader errIn = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(p.getErrorStream()));
               String e = "";
               while((e = errIn.readLine()) != null)
                    resultsTextArea.append(e);
               errIn.close();
          catch(IOException i)
               resultsTextArea.append("IO Exception");
</CODE>
I tried the way you outlined above but it seems to ignore the arguments and prints out the help text as if no arguments were given.
The full command I'm trying to pass is:
"pilot-xfer.exe -f CH-ResultsDB"
This command should prompt a single line telling the user to hit the HotSync button on their palm and once they do it will fetch the specified database.
I also tried calling a .bat file that would then do the command with identical results. If the bat simply said "pilot-xfer.exe" with no arguments it would work. if I add arguments the java app seems to lock up.
Note, running the .bat file by itself works fine with or without arguments.
Thanks for any help you can provide, this problem has been badgering me for nearly a week now..
Regards,
Jim