Temporarily transfers control to an external program
Syntax
Usage
result = Chain( program )
Parameters
program
The file name (including file path) of the program (executable) to transfer control to.
Return Value
Returns the external program's exit code if executed successfully, or negative one (-1) otherwise.
Description
Transfers control over to an external program. When the program exits, execution resumes immediately after the call to Chain.
Example
#ifdef __FB_LINUX__
Dim As String program = "./program"
#else
Dim As String program = "program.exe"
#endif
Print "Running " & program & "..."
If (Chain(program) <> 0) Then
Print program & " not found!"
End If
Platform Differences
- Linux requires the program name case matches the real name of the file. Windows and DOS are case insensitive. The program chained may be case sensitive for its command line parameters.
- Path separators in Linux are forward slashes / . Windows uses backward slashes \ but it allows for forward slashes . DOS uses backward \ slashes.
- Exit code is limited to 8 bits in DOS.
Differences from QB
See also
- Exec transfer temporarily, with arguments
- Run one-way transfer
- Command pick arguments