File Won't Run with Runtime On Windows XP

[Hal Vaughan]

I have a program that uses OpenOffice and the associated classes. This is
not an OpenOffice problem, but a strange problem of trying to run a
program. For several reasons, my program uses a script to run programs.
This lets me set arguments in the script (with some programs, others don't
need it) and it makes it a bit easier to keep track of paths across
different platforms.

I have a DOS .bat file that runs OpenOffice on Windows XP. I've never had a
problem with it in several years. If I run it from the command line, I can
see it's working just fine. But if I run that same .bat file from within
Java, the file runs but it doesn't run OpenOffice. Here's the .bat file:

SET ooo_file=$ooo_dir\program\soffice
if "%1" == "" "%ooo_file%" -quickstart >nul
if "%1" == "-quickstart" "%ooo_file%" -quickstart >nul
if "%1" == "-headless" "%ooo_file%" -headless >nul

Which I shortened, while testing, to this:

SET ooo_file=$ooo_dir\program\soffice
"%ooo_file%" -quickstart >nul

As I said, it works just fine (in either version) from the command line.
Then I run it in Java, using this:

try {
Runtime.getRuntime().exec(sFile);
} catch (Exception e) {
sysConfig.log("error", "Cannot Run Command (RunFile): " + sFile + ",
Error: " + e);
TNConfig.printTrace(e);
}

While the functions in the error trapping section are my own, they're not
the issue and when I'm having problems, they're never used, so no error is
thrown when I try this.

I've used this setup, on Windows XP, for a few years and there hasn't been a
problem. Now when I use it, the script works fine from the command line.
I know it is being run from within Java. I changed the ">nul" to redirect
to a file, the file was created but was empty. (There is no output from
OpenOffice normally, so I didn't expect output.) That tells me Java is
running the batch file and, supposedly, running OpenOffice, but the program
just isn't running (or is running quickly and exits).

Previously I had used Java 1.4.2 or Java 5, but this system is running Java
6. I've tested this on another XP system using Java 6 and I don't have
this problem.

I figure there must be something different about the environment within the
Runtime.getRuntime().exec() environment that a program can detect that
varies from the command line. It might also be likely that this change is
in Java 6 but not in earlier versions.

Can anyone shed some light on this problem?

Thanks!

Hal

 

[Martin Gregorie]

I have a program that uses OpenOffice and the associated classes. This is
not an OpenOffice problem, but a strange problem of trying to run a
program. For several reasons, my program uses a script to run programs.
This lets me set arguments in the script (with some programs, others don't
need it) and it makes it a bit easier to keep track of paths across
different platforms.

I have a DOS .bat file that runs OpenOffice on Windows XP. I've never had a
problem with it in several years. If I run it from the command line, I can
see it's working just fine. But if I run that same .bat file from within
Java, the file runs but it doesn't run OpenOffice. Here's the .bat file:

SET ooo_file=$ooo_dir\program\soffice
if "%1" == "" "%ooo_file%" -quickstart >nul
if "%1" == "-quickstart" "%ooo_file%" -quickstart >nul
if "%1" == "-headless" "%ooo_file%" -headless >nul

Which I shortened, while testing, to this:

SET ooo_file=$ooo_dir\program\soffice
"%ooo_file%" -quickstart >nul

As I said, it works just fine (in either version) from the command line.
Then I run it in Java, using this:

try {
Runtime.getRuntime().exec(sFile);
} catch (Exception e) {
sysConfig.log("error", "Cannot Run Command (RunFile): " + sFile + ",
Error: " + e);
TNConfig.printTrace(e);
}

While the functions in the error trapping section are my own, they're not
the issue and when I'm having problems, they're never used, so no error is
thrown when I try this.

I've used this setup, on Windows XP, for a few years and there hasn't been a
problem. Now when I use it, the script works fine from the command line.
I know it is being run from within Java. I changed the ">nul" to redirect
to a file, the file was created but was empty. (There is no output from
OpenOffice normally, so I didn't expect output.) That tells me Java is
running the batch file and, supposedly, running OpenOffice, but the program
just isn't running (or is running quickly and exits).

Previously I had used Java 1.4.2 or Java 5, but this system is running Java
6. I've tested this on another XP system using Java 6 and I don't have
this problem.

I figure there must be something different about the environment within the
Runtime.getRuntime().exec() environment that a program can detect that
varies from the command line. It might also be likely that this change is
in Java 6 but not in earlier versions.

Can anyone shed some light on this problem?

Try running a test script that displays the environment variables rather
than trying to run Open Office etc and see what the differences are
between what it shows in good and bad environments.

 

[Roedy Green]

Runtime.getRuntime().exec(sFile);

you can't run a bat file directly. You must run a command processor
and pass the bat file as a parameter.

See http://mindprod.com/jgloss/exec.html

 

[Hal Vaughan]

you can't run a bat file directly. You must run a command processor
and pass the bat file as a parameter.

See http://mindprod.com/jgloss/exec.html

So why would it have worked before?

Is there something I was doing that would work sometimes that isn't working
now?

Hal