I'm trying to execute saxon (XSLT command line parser) from VB.NET. From the DOS prompt, I have no problem doing so. However, my VB.NET application seems to refuse to work properly. Here's what I want to execute:
' Works in DOS
saxon -o output.xml input.xml transform.xsl 2>error.txt
Basically, the above command passes an input XML file and XSLT transformation script, defines the output file and sends any errors to standard output into error.txt.
Here's what I am trying to do in VB.NET
' Let's assume all these files are in the execution directory
Dim p as New System.Diagnostics.Process
p.StartInfo.FileName = "saxon.exe"
p.StartInfo.Arguments =" -o output.xml input.xml transform.xsl 2>error.txt"
p.StartInfo.RedirectStanda
p.StartInfo.UseShellExecut
p.Start
Dim a As String = p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd
MesssageBox.Show(a) ' always shows null string even when something should be there
Also, the transformation does not occur when the arguements include "2>error.txt." If I remove that from the arguements, the transformation works just fine -- except now I don't have my error log.
What's the proper way to execute a command line application with arguements that send to the standard output?
This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.
Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.
If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.
Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.
Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.
Access the answers to your technology questions today.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.
Try it out and discover for yourself.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.
I know that the standard output is what is displayed to the command line. "2>error.txt" is a redirect to the file, instead. That causes errors. There is nothing to read in error.txt because it is not generated, even when it should be. What am I supposed to do when the application has a standard output?
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: tpwellsPosted on 2005-07-15 at 04:43:39ID: 14449701
the standard output would be what the program displays to the command line, not what is sent to a file (at least in this case).
Try reading in your error.txt file after the execution is finished.
also put a p.WaitForExit() after the p.Start() that way the program will wait for the process to finish before reading the error file in