How to start a process from another application and then open a terminal to that process in gnu screen

Question

I'd like to be able to launch a process from a GUI application (right now I'm thinking specifically of letting an eclipse user -- possibly via a plugin -- click a button to launch a build using my organization's build system).

I don't want this process to stop when I stop the parent application, and I want to be able to "switch into it" later, as though I launched it from a command line.

I've seen GNU screen described as good for most of what I'm asking for, but I'm not sure about the "launch the process from another application" part.

Can this be done if the GUI application was itself launched from within screen? Can this be done if it wasn't? I'd be very interested in seeing how!

Update: Prepending "screen" to a command line looks like a good way to start a process in screen from a shell, but I'm trying to find a way to do this without being taken straight into that session. I want to "send" the command to a screen session, where it will be started in a new window in that session.

Answer 1

simply prepend the 'screen' command to your normal commandline.

E.g. if you normally execute "./make_build.sh opt1 opt" then your screenified commandline would be "screen ./make_build.sh opt1 opt2"

Its that easy! :-)

Answer 2

You can send screen messages to a running screen session with the -X flag.

See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1236376/how-to-start-a-new-process-in-a-new-window-in-an-existing-gnu-screen-session-fro or the screen man pages.

Answer 3

If you can suspend the process (via Cont-Z) you can then run

screen -dr -X screen $(fg)

It will attach that process to a new window in the screen. Its not ideal, but it will work.