open programs with a particular file!

comet85 has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: How to use perl to open programs by SamCG (Hermit) on Jan 20, 2006 at 22:07 UTC
well, you're not all that specific if you need to interact with them, so. . . `perl -e "system 'C:\Program Files\TextPad 4\Textpad.exe'"` [download] Works on my xp system to open textpad...	[reply] [d/l]
Re: How to use perl to open programs by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jan 20, 2006 at 22:07 UTC
Check out system	[reply]
Re: How to use perl to open programs by jZed (Prior) on Jan 20, 2006 at 22:08 UTC
If it's a command-line program: system("abcde.exe"). If it's a windows program: system("start","abcde.exe").	[reply]
Re^2: How to use perl to open programs by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jan 20, 2006 at 22:10 UTC
hum? Why use `start` for one and not the other? `start` will cause the Perl script to not wait for the application to finish whether it's a console application or a Windows application.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: How to use perl to open programs by jZed (Prior) on Jan 20, 2006 at 22:11 UTC
Sorry, my windoze is a bit rusty. I seem to remember that start was required for some non-console programs.	[reply]
Re^4: How to use perl to open programs by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jan 20, 2006 at 22:13 UTC
Re: open programs with a particular file! by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jan 21, 2006 at 03:42 UTC
If the program you want to start is associate with the filetype of the file you want it to load, then a simple `system 'path\to\file.ext';` [download] will start the default application for that filetype, passing it the filename via it's command line. The perl script will not wait for the program started to end if it is a GUI app. All the usual caveats about backslashes, spaces in pathnames etc., apply. This is an implicit 'start' command being issued by cmd.exe, and you should read the help for that command for further info. If you want to open a file in a particular application, which is not the current default for that filetype, then you will have to use both the command and the filename on the command line in the normal way. Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. Lingua non convalesco, consenesco et abolesco. -- Rule 1 has a caveat! -- Who broke the cabal? "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.	[reply] [d/l]
Re: open programs with a particular file! by holli (Abbot) on Jan 21, 2006 at 10:35 UTC
That depends on the program you are trying to call. Look up the programs documentation if and how you can specify a command line parameter to make it open a file after startup. In the case of textpad it's simple. Simply pass it the name of the file. `system ("textpad.exe", "myfile.txt");` [download] holli, /regexed monk/	[reply] [d/l]