Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!munnari.oz.au!labtam!cmsfl!nigel
From: nigel@cmsfl@labtam.oz (Nigel Harwood)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: popen() can't tell if cmd fails
Keywords: popen()
Message-ID: <855@cmsfl>
Date: 1 Jul 90 06:44:21 GMT
Organization: Coles Myer Ltd., Melbourne, Australia
Lines: 23

As a general question, how much use to people make of the popen()
function in programs where failures must be detected ?

I am working on a program where I would like to use
popen() but can see no way of detecting when the command exits
with a bad status.

At least not easily anyway.

Popen() will return a NULL pointer if the creation of the 
environment to run the command under fail but not if the command
fails.

So I have instead resorted to using system() and two temporary files
which means I am using one temporary file I wouldn't need if popen()
would tell me the exit code.

Your thoughts ?
-- 
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