Using Runtime.getRuntime().exec(DOS Program) with Windows 2000.

Question

I am trying to spawn a DOS Program from within Java.
On Win95/98/ME, I use
Process     p = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("START /w command.com con /c myDOSProgram.exe");
This works on these platforms. On Win 2000, I use
Process     p = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("START /w cmd.exe con /c myDOSProgram.exe");
It does not work at all.
I have tried all combinations of using START, cmd.exe, con /c, etc.
I can spawn a Windows App using
Process     p = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("windows.exe");
And it works fine.
What does it take to spawn a DOS program from Java on the Windows 2000 op sys?

Answer 1

Hi. I recently wrote a java GUI that calls a DOS program with mixed success. Here's the code I used to make the call:String osName = System.getProperty("os.name" );
String[] cmd = new String[4];
if( osName.equals( "Windows 2000" ) || osName.equals( "Windows NT" ) )
     cmd[0] = "cmd.exe";
     cmd[1] = "/C" ;
     cmd[2] = "VBDoc.exe";
     cmd[3] = fileName;
else if( osName.equals( "Windows 95" ) || osName.equals( "Windows 98" ) )
     cmd[0] = "command.com" ;
     cmd[1] = "/C" ;
     cmd[2] = "VBDoc.exe";
     cmd[3] = fileName;
else
     System.out.println(osName);
Process proc = runtime.exec(cmd);Check out this article, it gives a good explanation of how to use the exec() call:
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-12-2000/jw-1229-traps.html
Hope this helps!