use strict;
use IO::File;
use File::Temp qw(tempfile);
use Win32::Process;
use Win32;

# Create a temporary file to hold the input.
my ($fh, $filename) = tempfile();

# And stream everything into it.
my $linecount = 0;
while (<>)    {
    $fh->print($_);
    $linecount++;
}

print STDERR "Wrote $linecount lines to $filename.\n";

# Now pass the input off to aspell for processing
my $obj;
my $appname = "C:\\windows\\system32\\cmd.exe";
my $cmdline = "/K dir";
my $iflags = 0;
my $cflags = NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS + CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE;
my $curdir = ".";

Win32::Process::Create(    $obj,
                        $appname,
                        $cmdline,
                        $iflags,
                        $cflags,
                        $curdir)
                        or die "Couldn't shell to aspell.\n";

$obj->Wait(INFINITE);

# Return the tempfile on standard output
seek($fh, 0, 0);
while (<$fh>) {
    print
}

print "Check complete."
[download]

STDIN = console input;
STDOUT = console display;
system("stuff");
STDOUT = back to the redirected version;
[download]

There is still no clear explanation of what exactly you are trying to achieve with your code? Rather than posting more code, please try to explain what it is that you are trying to achieve.

For example, one reading of the words you've posted so far is that you want to:

1. start an executable from a perl program, passing it a filename via the command line;
2. Allow the user to interact with that program via the console;
3. Have the perl script capture the output from the program;
4. Then print that output on the (same?) console.

But if that is a correct reading, I cannot see how you thought the code you've posted so far was ever going to acheive that--so, perhaps I mis-reading the words?

---

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.

"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".

In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

"Too many [] have been sedated by an oppressive environment of political correctness and risk aversion."

Dude,

system('C:/Program Files/Aspell/bin/aspell.exe', '--check', "$filename
+");
[download]

Yep, that was it. The entire point was to be able to wrap the interactive version of aspell in a pipeline, i.e.

head filename | perl aspell_filter.pl | sort
[download]

or some such nonsense. The reason behind all of this is that the email client I'm trying to use these days for various reasons, Claws Mail, doesn't have a built-in spell checker on the Windows port. It does, however, have the ability to pipe all of the text of the email being worked on to the standard input of another program, then replace that email text with whatever comes out of the standard output. Hence the need for a wrapper to allow me to take in STDIN, work with it via console+keyboard, and pipe the results back out STDOUT. The hope was to be able to throw something together quick and dirty in 20 lines and be done with it. The reality has been anything but, and I think I'm on the verge of abandoning the project. furry_marmot's tip solved the immediate problem; I can now embed the program in a pipeline and it pops up a new console and works beautifully. But it's still not working from Claws, nor is

print "Results are:\n";
while (<>) {
    print;
}
[download]

Leading me to believe that Claws's pipeline features are broken under Windows as well, thus defeating the point of the project. Still, thanks for the help. I'm sure I'll wind up needing that trick again at some point.

change " + CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE" to " | CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE", it should work fine.

That really shoudn't make any difference. The result would only be different if there were some bits in common between the two constants being added/orred.

However, there couldn't be any bits in common, because otherwise the function being called couldn't work out a specific meaning for a bit being set.

That aside, good call on using system() :-)

--
use JAPH;
print JAPH::asString();

It shouldn't make a difference, but it does. The first way doesn't work. Windows documentation says to use the pipe character, so I just always do.

Anyway, thanks!