How do I execute a Windows command

Question

I want to be able to execute, for example, a 'dir' command and capture the output for parsing.

Answer 1

Thanks for the reply. Here is the program I tried:
import java.io.*;
public class TestProcess
     public static void main(String[] args)
          throws Exception
          // execute the command
          Process process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec( args );
          // read the output from the command
          String line;
          BufferedReader output = new BufferedReader( new InputStreamReader( process.getInputStream() ) );
          while ( (line = output.readLine()) != null )
               if (line.trim().length() > 0)
                    System.out.println( line );
          output.close();
This is how I tested it:
java TestProcess notepad (works ok)
java TestProcess java (works ok, I get java help displayed)
java TestProcess command /c dir
I get>>> Exception in thread "main" java.io.IOException: CreateProcess: command /c dir error=0
java TestProcess command.com /c dir
it hangs
I'm running on Windows 98. Any suggestions?