CreateProcess with CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE & keep the console window open - c++

Question

I have a working command-line application that uses the Windows API to create a child process in a new console window. I am using the CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE flag but I need a way to keep that newly opened window from closing when the new process exits.
Here's the existing code:
STARTUPINFO si;
LPCTSTR lpAppName = "\\\\fs\\storage\\QA\\Mason\\psexec\\PSExec.exe";
string lpstr = "\\\\fs\\storage\\QA\\Mason\\psexec\\PSExec.exe \\\\" + target + " /accepteula -u user -p pass -s -realtime \\\\fs\\storage\\QA\\Mason\\psexec\\RI.bat";
LPTSTR lpCmd = CA2T(lpstr.c_str());
PROCESS_INFORMATION pi; // This structure has process id
DWORD exitCode = 9999; // Process exit code
ZeroMemory(&si, sizeof(si));
si.cb = sizeof(si);
ZeroMemory(&pi, sizeof(pi));
// Start the child process.
if (!CreateProcess(lpAppName, // cmd.exe for running batch scripts
lpCmd, // Command line
NULL, // Process handle not inheritable
NULL, // Thread handle not inheritable
FALSE, // Set handle inheritance to FALSE
CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE, // New Console Window 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
)
{
cout << "CreateProcess failed: " << GetLastError() << endl;
getchar();
return -1;
}
// Wait until child process exits.
cout << "Waiting Installation processes to complete on " << target << endl;
DWORD result = WaitForSingleObject(pi.hProcess, INFINITE);
// Get Exit Code
if (!GetExitCodeProcess(pi.hProcess, &exitCode)) {
cout << "GetErrorCodeProcess failed: " << GetLastError() << endl;
return -1;
}
// Close process and thread handles.
CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
How can I make the new console window remain open?

Answer 1

In this particular instance the easiest solution is to cheat, i.e.,
psexec -s \\target cmd /c "\\server\share\file.bat & pause"
You're already launching an instance of cmd.exe implicitly, to run the batch file, so this doesn't introduce any significant overhead.
For a more general solution, you would need to launch a proxy application (with CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE) that launches the target application (without CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE) and then waits. For bonus points, the proxy application would be the same as the parent application, just launched with a command-line flag that tells it what to do.