Execute console applications without creating a new console window flickering on the screen (C++, Windows)

Question

I'm writing a windows application and I needs to run some console applications from it and get their output. I tried two different approaches:

1) Using _popen(command, "rt") 2) Creating a child process with redirected output (CreateProcess(), CreatePipe())

They both work but during the execution of some command a new console window is created and it's very unpleasant and ugly. Is there some way to execute the commands in background without opening a new console?

Answer 1

You can use libexecstream.

It allows you to run console programs and read their output using a stream.

As stated by the website it:

• Works on Linux and Windows
• Uses threads
• Does not depend on any other non-standard library
• Is distributed as source code only, requires you to compile and link one file into your program
• Has a BSD-style license

I may add that I've successfully used it in a recent project, and that no disgracious console window popped up.

Answer 2

You might want to try passing the CREATE_NO_WINDOW or DETACHED_PROCESS flag to CreateProcess.