One button that opens and closes another app

Question

3.00/5 (2 votes)

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Hi can you help me create a button if clicked it will open the console app and if you click the same button again it will close the console app

Here My code

C#

private void btnStartNStop_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            if (true)
            {
                Process p = new Process()
                    {
                        StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo()
                        {
                            FileName = "cmd.exe",
                            CreateNoWindow = true,
                            UseShellExecute = false,
                            ErrorDialog = false,
                            RedirectStandardInput = true,
                            RedirectStandardOutput = true,
                            RedirectStandardError = true,
                        },
                        EnableRaisingEvents = true,
                        SynchronizingObject = this
                    };

                p.OutputDataReceived += (s, ea) => this.txtOutput.AppendText(ea.Data);

                p.Start();
                p.BeginOutputReadLine(); 
            }
        }

Posted 3-Apr-14 8:39am

Nico_Travassos

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Comments

Maciej Los 3-Apr-14 14:48pm

What kind of issue do you have?

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 3-Apr-14 15:01pm

Right. Not clear, but the code already goes in wrong direction.
I schematically answered, please see Solution 1.
—SA

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 3-Apr-14 14:48pm

No need to "create a button". All buttons you need already exist. :-)
—SA

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 3-Apr-14 14:49pm

Do you want to run cmd.exe? Or something else?
—SA

Nico_Travassos 3-Apr-14 14:52pm

i want one button that starts a console application and if you click the same button again it will close console application the code in button i placed on site is if the but is clicked "Start" then the text of button will change to "Stop" and if you click that it will close the console app

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 3-Apr-14 15:02pm

What application? Not "CMD.EXE" itself, I presume...
—SA

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Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-03T08:58:00

Solution 1

The most apparent mistake you is using "CMD.EXE". It's obvious from redirection that you don't need to run it in interactive mode. Hence, you use it to run some other application from this process. This would be more than silly. Instead, you should just start the application you need. "CMD.EXE" is not needed, why? This is just one of applications, nothing special about it.

Now, here is what you need basically:

C#

class SomeClass {

    public SomeClass() {
        // ...
        someButton.Click += (sender, eventArgs) => {
            if (externalProcess == null) {
                externalProcess = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(
                    fileName,
                    commandLine);
                // change button text to, say, "Stop the Application"
            } else {
                // handle your output data here
                externalProcess.Kill();
                externalProcess = null;
                // change button text to, say, "Start the Application"
            }
        }; //someButton.Click
    } //SomeClass

    System.Diagnostics.Process externalProcess;

    Button someButton = //...
    string fileName = "someApplication.exe"; // whatever it is
    string commandLine = ""some command line parameters""; // whatever it is

} //SomeClass

Very typically SomeClass would be the class of your main form or main WPF window, or something you use for UI.

—SA

Posted 3-Apr-14 8:58am

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov

Updated 3-Apr-14 9:00am

v3

Comments

Maciej Los 3-Apr-14 15:37pm

Hmmm...
If i understand OP's question correctly, OP wants to open and close "someApplication" using the same button.
What you suggest is to create several buttons with custom event handler. Is that what OP really wants? I don't think so...

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 3-Apr-14 15:41pm

No, you just missed it. This is exactly what I demonstrated: I take just one button someButton and added a single event handler which creates the process in one case and kills it if is already creating. Additionally, one could check the process status, as well as many other things. (The whole thing is not a really good idea anyway.)

Let's say, the instance of the class shown is a singleton, such as the class for the main form/window.

Well, can you see it now?
—SA

Maciej Los 3-Apr-14 15:51pm

Forgive me. I'm watching but not see (i hope i translated properly).
+5!

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 3-Apr-14 16:37pm

Please, no reason to apologize at all; and thank you.
Probably, you mean "look" vs "see", like in "it's not enough to look, you also need to see", etc. Watch is different: "watch TV", "watch this" (I'll show you something), "watch him" (observe the process; often: keep an eye on, be careful, like in "watch out for dog").
—SA

Maciej Los 3-Apr-14 16:58pm

Thank you Sergey ;)
So, finally how to say: "Я смотрю, но не вижу...": "i'm looking but cannot see"(?) In that case "i'm looking" could means "to find", am i right?
Its English idiom, i know it, but can't find.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 3-Apr-14 18:16pm

Exactly; for the first verb "look" should be useful.

As to "find", it is also related to one other usage of "look": "Look for" is trying to find something, "find" could be a result of successful "looking for"...
Other meanings of "look" come with prepositions, such as: "look for"; and "look after" meaning taking care of some person who needs some help, a baby, a sick one...

—SA

Maciej Los 4-Apr-14 1:57am

Thank you for clarification ;)

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 4-Apr-14 2:03am

Anytime :-)
—SA

Nico_Travassos 3-Apr-14 17:13pm

Perfect thanks

Sergey Alexandrovich Kryukov 3-Apr-14 18:13pm

You are very welcome. Good luck, call again.
—SA