How to run an exe with multiple arguments with CreateProcessW in C++ - c++

Question

I have tried to use this example to run an external program using CreateProcessW() in C++, however, when I use multiple arguments this code seems to not work.
In my case, I pass the following path:
std::string pathToExe = "C:\\Users\\Aitor - ST\\Documents\\QtProjects\\ErgoEvalPlatform\\ErgonomicEvaluationPlatform\\FACTS\\xsim-runner.exe"
and the following arguments:
std::string arguments = "--model=facts_input.xml --output_xml=something.xml"
These parameters work from cmd, but they seem to not give any output (an xml should appear in the same folder) when I use them from C++.
Is there something I might be missing?

Answer 1

The following is an example for showing "How to run an exe with multiple arguments with CreateProcessW in C++". You can check if it helps.
The launcher application (a console app):
#include <iostream>
#include <windows.h>
int main()
{
STARTUPINFO si;
PROCESS_INFORMATION pi; // The function returns this
ZeroMemory(&si, sizeof(si));
si.cb = sizeof(si);
ZeroMemory(&pi, sizeof(pi));
CONST wchar_t* commandLine = TEXT("arg1 arg2 arg3");
// Start the child process.
if (!CreateProcessW(
L"D:\\Win32-Cases\\TestTargetApp\\Debug\\TestTargetApp.exe", // app path
(LPWSTR)commandLine, // Command line
NULL, // Process handle not inheritable
NULL, // Thread handle not inheritable
FALSE, // Set handle inheritance to FALSE
0, // No creation flags
NULL, // Use parent's environment block
NULL, // Use parent's starting directory
&si, // Pointer to STARTUPINFO structure
&pi) // Pointer to PROCESS_INFORMATION structure
)
{
printf("CreateProcess failed (%d).\n", GetLastError());
throw std::exception("Could not create child process");
}
else
{
std::cout << "[ ] Successfully launched child process" << std::endl;
}
}
The target application (another console app) that will be launched:
#include <iostream>
#include <windows.h>
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
if (argc > 0)
{
for (int index = 0; index < argc; index++)
{
std::cout << argv[index] << std::endl;
}
}
return 1;
}

Answer 2

There's two potential problems I can infer from the code you're showing.
Space before the arguments
Depending on how you're concatenating the arguments string to the executable string, you may miss a space before the arguments. Without the code, it's impossible to tell, but try changing the arguments string like this :
std::string arguments = " --model=facts_input.xml --output_xml=something.xml;"
Current directory
CreateProcess spawns a child process that inherits the current directory from it's parent process. The XML files you specify on the arguments use relative paths.
Try specifying the full path of the XML files you're passing in the arguments, something like this :
std::string arguments = " --model=\"C:\\Users\\Aitor - ST\\Documents\\QtProjects\\ErgoEvalPlatform\\ErgonomicEvaluationPlatform\\FACTS\\facts_input.xml\" --output_xml=\"C:\\Users\\Aitor - ST\\Documents\\QtProjects\\ErgoEvalPlatform\\ErgonomicEvaluationPlatform\\FACTS\\something.xml\"";

Answer 3

You have to pass the complete command line in the arguments as under:
std::string arguments = "C:\\Users\\Aitor-ST\\Documents\\QtProjects\\ErgoEvalPlatform\\ErgonomicEvaluationPlatform\\FACTS\\xsim-runner.exe --model=facts_input.xml --output_xml=something.xml"
The second parameter of CreateProcessW requires complete command line and not just arguments. It passes this to the process and if the target process is a C program taking agrs, then as usual the first parameter will be module name and others that follow will be args.
Hope this helps