How to Run a Program from Within a QuickWin Program

ID: Q89132

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft FORTRAN for Windows, version 5.1

Microsoft FORTRAN version 5.1 QuickWin programs can spawn other programs while running under Windows by using the Windows API function WinExec(). The spawned programs can be MS-DOS- or Windows-based applications.

Because Windows is a multitasking system, the spawning program may terminate before the spawned programs finish their task. It is possible to wait for termination of a spawned process by using the GetModuleUsage() Windows API function.

WinExec() can also be used to emulate the system() function by spawning MS-DOS COMMAND.COM. It is recommended to use a program information file (PIF) when spawning any MS-DOS executable such as COMMAND.COM.

MORE INFORMATION

WinExec() returns an integer value greater than 32 if successful. If unsuccessful, it returns of the following codes:


    0 - The system was out of memory, or the executable file was
       corrupt, or relocations were invalid.
   2 - The file was not found.
   3 - The path was not found.
   5 - An attempt was made to dynamically link to a task, or
       there was a sharing or network protection error.
   6 - The library required separate data segments for each task.
  10 - The Windows version was incorrect.
  11 - The executable file was invalid. It was either not a
       Windows-based application or there was an error in the .EXE
       image.
  12 - The application was designed for OS/2.
  13 - The application was designed for MS-DOS 4.0.
  14 - The type of executable file was unknown.
  15 - An attempt was made to load a real-mode application
       (developed for an earlier version of Windows).
  16 - An attempt was made to load a second instance of an
       executable file containing multiple data segments that
       were not marked "read-only."
  17 - Attempt in large-frame EMS mode to load a second instance
       of an application that links to certain non-shareable
       DLLs already in use.
  18 - Attempt in real mode to load an application marked for
       protected mode only.

Under Windows 3.1 the WinExec() function may also return the following codes:


   8 - There was insufficient memory to start the application.
  19 - An attempt was made to load a compressed executable file.
       The file must be expanded before it can be loaded.
  20 - The DLL file was invalid. One of the DLLs required to run
       this application was corrupt.
  21 - The application requires Microsoft Windows 32-bit
       extensions.

Also note that under Windows, 3.1 the return codes 17 and 18 have been eliminated.

WinExec() may be unsuccessful if the QuickWin program tries to run an MS-DOS application directly. If the file to be run is a non-Windows file, you should create a program information file (PIF) to run it. For information about PIFs and how to create them, see the "Microsoft Windows User's Guide" for version 3.1.

The syntax of WinExec() is as follows:


       INTERFACE TO INTEGER*2 FUNCTION WinExec [PASCAL]
      + (lpCmdLine, nCmdShow)
       CHARACTER*1 lpCmdLine [REFERENCE]
       INTEGER*2   nCmdShow  [VALUE]
       END

The first argument, lpCmdLine, is the command line required to run the file. This must be a NULL terminated string, which may also contain command-line arguments for the program. If a path is not specified, WinExec() will look in the following directories: the working directory of the calling program, the WINDOWS directory, and finally in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If the program is a non-Windows .EXE, the PIF indicates the directory where it is located.

The second argument, nCmdShow, indicates the initial state of the application's main window when it is created. This parameter can be one of the following numbers:


   1   Start the application in a normal size window.
   2   Start the application minimized. Show an icon at the
       bottom of the screen.
   3   Start the application in a maximized window.
   4   Start the application but set the focus back to the
       calling program.
   7   Start the application minimized and set the focus back
       to the calling program.

If the nCmdShow option is set so that the spawned MS-DOS process does not retain the focus, it is imperative to create a PIF for the process that allows background processing. Otherwise, the MS-DOS process will start then suspend its processing, and the main program will also be suspended indefinitely waiting for the MS-DOS process to terminate.

GetModuleUsage() returns the reference count of the module if the function is successful, and a zero if no instances of the module are found.

The syntax of GetModuleUsage() is as follows


      INTERFACE TO INTEGER*2 FUNCTION GetModuleUsage [PASCAL]
     +  (hinst)
      INTEGER*2 hinst [value]
      END

where hinst identifies the module or an instance of the module.

Sample Code 1

The following code demonstrates how to use the WinExec() and GetModuleUsage() APIs from within a FORTRAN program. This code should be compiled and linked as a QuickWin Windows program. Note that the compiler option /MW0 is recommended to avoid having to access the YIELDQQ subroutine as a function.

The program first executes a simple QuickWin program, then it calls COMMAND.COM to redirect a directory listing into a file. Finally, it calls a FORTRAN MS-DOS application.


MAINPROG.FOR

      INTERFACE TO INTEGER*2 FUNCTION WinExec [PASCAL]
     +  (lpCmdLine, nCmdShow)
      CHARACTER*1 lpCmdLine [REFERENCE]
      INTEGER*2   nCmdShow  [VALUE]
      END

      INTERFACE TO INTEGER*2 FUNCTION GetModuleUsage [PASCAL]
     +  (hinst)
      INTEGER*2 hinst [value]
      END

      INTERFACE TO INTEGER*2 FUNCTION WinExecPause
     +  (progname, style)
      CHARACTER*(*) progname      !C string
      INTEGER*2 style
      END

      PROGRAM Sample_WINEXEC_API

      integer*2 WinExecPause, ihandle
      character*20 progname

      progname = 'subprog1'c
      ihandle = WinExecPause(progname, 1)  ! Start in normal mode

      !Emulate DOS's system call.
      !Use the dosprmpt PIF file.
      ihandle = WinExecPause('dosprmpt.pif /c dir>dir.dat'C, 1)

      progname = 'subprog2'c
      ihandle = WinExecPause(progname, 1)
      print*, 'Main Program terminated'

      end               !End of Main()


C WinExecPause is a wrapper function for the WinExec function.

      integer*2 function WinExecPause(progname, style)
      character*(*) progname      !C string
      integer*2 style
      integer*2 WinExec, GetModuleUsage

      WinExecPause = WinExec(progname, style)
      if (WinExecPause .LE. 32) then
          print *, 'Unable to run ',progname
          return
      endif

      do while (GetModuleUsage(WinExecPause)) ! Wait
          call YIELDQQ()
      end do

      end        !End of WinExecPause

Sample Code 2

The following is the code for SUBPROG1.FOR, a small QuickWin program that will be spawned from the main QuickWin program:


SUBPROG1.FOR

      PRINT *, 'Inside Exe 1 Program...hit ENTER to continue.'
      READ (*, *)
      END

Sample Code 3

Here is the code for SUBPROG2.FOR, a small MS-DOS program spawned from the main QuickWin program:


SUBPROG2.FOR
      PRINT *, 'Inside Exe 2 Program...hit ENTER to continue.'
      READ (*, *)
      END

Project Makefile


# Note that the file FL.DEF from the FORTRAN\BINB directory
# will have to be copied into the same directory as the
# source code.

ALL : MainProg.EXE SubProg1.EXE SubProg2.EXE

MainProg.EXE : MainProg.OBJ
    Link MainProg.OBJ, , NUL, /NOD LLIBFEW, FL.DEF

SubProg1.EXE : SubProg1.OBJ
    Link SubProg1.OBJ, , NUL, /NOD LLIBFEW, FL.DEF

SubProg2.EXE : SubProg2.OBJ
    Link SubProg2.OBJ;

MainProg.OBJ : MainProg.FOR
    FL /MW0 /c MainProg.FOR

SubProg1.OBJ : SubProg1.FOR
    FL /MW /c SubProg1.FOR

SubProg2.OBJ : SubProg2.FOR
    FL /c SubProg2.FOR

Additional query words: kbinf 5.10

Keywords :
Version : :5.1
Platform :
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