'system' call on a different drive

blacksmith has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

I know I should be able to figure this one out, but my mind is just stuck. I am running a script on a Win2000 system which has a primary hard drive (c:, naturally) and a secondary hard drive (d:). The script runs from the D:/ command line. It has two "system ()" calls which request commands to be run on the c:/. I am receiving an error "'c:\program' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.'". I would assume that the reason is that I am unable to go from one drive to the other. Here is part of my code (one of the system calls).

my $downloadbank = "c:/program files/symantec/procomm plus/programs/pw
+5.exe bankpull.wax jbankrib.txt";
system ($downloadbank);
[download]

Any ideas. Is there a module to help me with this task or am I just coding incorrectly? Thanks. blacksmith.

Comment on 'system' call on a different drive Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: 'system' call on a different drive by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Dec 12, 2002 at 05:21 UTC
You need to quote the spaces in your paths. Try `my $downloadbank = '"c:/program files/symantec/procomm plus/programs/p +w5.exe" bankpull.wax jbankrib.txt';` [download] Okay you lot, get your wings on the left, halos on the right. It's one size fits all, and "No!", you can't have a different color. Pick up your cloud down the end and "Yes" if you get allocated a grey one they *are* a bit damp under foot, but someone has to get them. Get used to the wings fast cos its an 8 hour day...unless the Govenor calls for a cyclone or hurricane, in which case 16 hour shifts are mandatory. Just be grateful that you arrived just as the tornado season finished. Them buggers are real work.	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Re: 'system' call on a different drive by blacksmith (Hermit) on Dec 12, 2002 at 05:53 UTC
Thanks. Such a simple answer to something that has stumped me for about an hour and a half. blacksmith	[reply]
Re: 'system' call on a different drive by submersible_toaster (Chaplain) on Dec 12, 2002 at 06:18 UTC
I recently found that using the multi arg syntax of system negates many of the escaping issues that arise with this command. `my $pw5 = 'c:/program files/symantec/procomm plus/programs/pw5.exe my $wax = 'bankpull.wax'; my $txt = 'jbankrib.txt'; system ( $pw5 , $wax , $txt ) or die 'Screaming $!';` [download] Having said that, I have no Win32 system to test this with. But it does a fine job in nix. And if you REALLY* get tired of \this \that \" \something else , you will probably find `q\|singled quoted\| and qq\|doublequoted\|` very very helpful.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: 'system' call on a different drive by mce (Curate) on Dec 12, 2002 at 13:11 UTC
Hi, Although it works, I always avoid to use system on win32 systems. Use things like Win32::Spawn, Win32::Process, etc.. from the Win32 module which comes with your windows distribution. It allows better control, error handling, .. --------------------------- Dr. Mark Ceulemans Senior Consultant IT Masters, Belgium	[reply]