Execute multiple command lines with the same process using .NET

Admin 1
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I'm trying to execute multiple commands without create a new process each time. Basically, I want to start the DOS command shell, switch to the MySQL command shell, and execute a command. Here's how I am calling the procedure (also below). Also, how do I handle the "\"'s in the command?

ExecuteCommand("mysql --user=root --password=sa casemanager", 100, false);

ExecuteCommand(@"\. " + Environment.CurrentDirectory + @"\MySQL\CaseManager.sql", 100, true);

private void ExecuteCommand(string Command, int Timeout, Boolean closeProcess)
{
    ProcessStartInfo ProcessInfo;
    Process Process;

    ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/C " + Command);
    ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
    ProcessInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
    Process = Process.Start(ProcessInfo);
    Process.WaitForExit(Timeout);

    if (closeProcess == true) { Process.Close(); }
}
command-line .net c#
10 Answers

You can redirect standard input and use a StreamWriter to write to it:

        Process p = new Process();
        ProcessStartInfo info = new ProcessStartInfo();
        info.FileName = "cmd.exe";
        info.RedirectStandardInput = true;
        info.UseShellExecute = false;

        p.StartInfo = info;
        p.Start();

        using (StreamWriter sw = p.StandardInput)
        {
            if (sw.BaseStream.CanWrite)
            {
                sw.WriteLine("mysql -u root -p");
                sw.WriteLine("mypassword");
                sw.WriteLine("use mydb;");
            }
        }
user_530070

Couldn't you just write all the commands into a .cmd file in the temp folder and then execute that file?

Martin_196350

As another answer alludes to under newer versions of Windows it seems to be necessary to read the standard output and/or standard error streams otherwise it will stall between commands. A neater way to do that instead of using delays is to use an async callback to consume output from the stream:

static void RunCommands(List<string> cmds, string workingDirectory = "")
{
    var process = new Process();
    var psi = new ProcessStartInfo();
    psi.FileName = "cmd.exe";
    psi.RedirectStandardInput = true;
    psi.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
    psi.RedirectStandardError = true;
    psi.UseShellExecute = false;
    psi.WorkingDirectory = workingDirectory;
    process.StartInfo = psi;
    process.Start();
    process.OutputDataReceived += (sender, e) => { Console.WriteLine(e.Data); };
    process.ErrorDataReceived += (sender, e) => { Console.WriteLine(e.Data); };
    process.BeginOutputReadLine();
    process.BeginErrorReadLine();
    using (StreamWriter sw = process.StandardInput)
    {
        foreach (var cmd in cmds)
        {
            sw.WriteLine (cmd);
        }
    }
    process.WaitForExit();
}
user_15997510

I prefer to do it by using a BAT file.

With BAT file you have more control and can do whatever you want.

string batFileName = path + @"\" + Guid.NewGuid() + ".bat";

using (StreamWriter batFile = new StreamWriter(batFileName))
{
    batFile.WriteLine($"YOUR COMMAND");
    batFile.WriteLine($"YOUR COMMAND");
    batFile.WriteLine($"YOUR COMMAND");
}

ProcessStartInfo processStartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + batFileName);
processStartInfo.UseShellExecute = true;
processStartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
processStartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Normal;

Process p = new Process();
p.StartInfo = processStartInfo;
p.Start();
p.WaitForExit();

File.Delete(batFileName);
user_58466950
user_499420

You could also tell MySQL to execute the commands in the given file, like so:

mysql --user=root --password=sa casemanager < CaseManager.sql
Ben_Hoffstein_44820

I'm using these methods:

    public static Process StartCommand(params string[] commands) => StartCommand(commands, false);
    public static Process StartCommand(IEnumerable<string> commands, bool inBackground, bool runAsAdministrator = true)
    {
        Process p = new Process();
        p.StartInfo.FileName = "cmd.exe";
        if(commands.Any()) p.StartInfo.Arguments = @"/C " + string.Join("&&", commands);
        if (runAsAdministrator)
            p.StartInfo.Verb = "runas";
        if (inBackground)
        {
            p.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
            p.StartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
        }
        p.Start();
        return p;
    }

Enjoy...

user_52588090
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