Passing arguments into a batch file, from c#

Question

I have a batch file I want to run from a C# windows form. the Batch file is very basic and accepts one parameter

cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Advent\ApxClient
AdvScriptRunner REPRUN -mrgainloss -p%1 -vf -t\\myserver\apx$\pdf\myReport

If i call it in a command prompt, this works fine

C:\Program Files (x86)\Locations\blah>realizedgainloss 123456

that will run just fine, and i get the expected result (it outputs a report run on a third party peice of software). However I cannot for the life of me figure this out with c#. I have the following.

private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        ExecuteCommand(getCommand());

    }

    public string getCommand()
    {
        return "realizedgainloss.bat";
    }

    static void ExecuteCommand(string command)
    {
        int exitCode;
        ProcessStartInfo processInfo;
        Process process;

        processInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(command);
        //processInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
        processInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
        // *** Redirect the output ***
        processInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
        processInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
        processInfo.Arguments = String.Format("{0} {1}", command, "123456");
        process = Process.Start(processInfo);
        process.WaitForExit();

        // *** Read the streams ***
        // Warning: This approach can lead to deadlocks, see Edit #2
        string output = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
        string error = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();

        exitCode = process.ExitCode;

        Console.WriteLine("output>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(output) ? "(none)" : output));
        Console.WriteLine("error>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(error) ? "(none)" : error));
        Console.WriteLine("ExitCode: " + exitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
        process.Close();
    }

Its worth noting that if i do not provide a parameter, and change the bat file to be static, with 12345 in place of it's %1, then it runs from C#, so there is something incorrect about how i'm getting the parameters into the bat file...

any thoughts?

Answer 1

You have your batch file name as the command to run and the first parameter of your script. I find it easier and more reliable to use cmd.exe as the command to run and invoke it with the /C argument. Doing it this way you should make sure your working directory is set correctly as well.

processInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe");
processInfo.Arguments = String.Format("/C {0} {1}", command, "123456");
processInfo.WorkingDirectory = yourWorkingDirectory;