Process, ProcessStartInfo fail to run large batch file

[Leo Heska]

Hi

I haven't seen the following problem mentioned anywhere

We have an application written in VB.NET which executes a batch file (named startJob.cmd). We have discovered that if that batch file is too big, the last lines of the batch file will not run. For example, the following one-line batch file runs just fine when invoked from our VB.NET app

echo %PATH% > c:\com\molex\plot\wmIntegration\logs\p0.lo

but the following batch file fails when identically invoked by the same app

REM This is a test This is a test This is a test This is a test This is a test
REM This is a test This is a test This is a test This is a test This is a test
[40 more of these remark lines
echo %PATH% > c:\com\molex\plot\wmIntegration\logs\p0.lo

I am able to reproduce this error 100% of the time on two separate machines, both of which run Windows 2000 server

I doubt that this problem is related either to environment space or total RAM available to the program, because nothing in the above batch file should use up any environment space, or more than a trivial amount of memory. Also, on one of the machines, I tried setting the following in the file c:\WINNT\System32\CONFIG.NT

shell=%SystemRoot%\system32\command.com e:1638

Adding the above line did not affect the problem

Here is the chunk of code which seems most relevant

Protected Overridable Function ExportFileWorkManager() As Boolea
Dim sCmdShell As Strin
Dim oProcess As Proces
Dim oStartInfo As ProcessStartInf
Dim oProcessMonitor As ProcessMonito

'java program hangs(?) or takes long time when these do not have setting
If moJobQueue.DOC_CLASS_NAME = Nothing Or moJobQueue.PROGRAM_NAME = Nothing The
Return Fals
End I

Tr
oStartInfo = New ProcessStartInfo(moConfig.WorkManagerExePath
oStartInfo.Arguments = "export_native @1 @2".Replace("@1", moJobQueue.DOC_ELID).Replace("@2", moJobQueue.PROGRAM_NAME
goLog.LogEntry("IPlot", "ExportFileWorkManager", oStartInfo.Arguments
oStartInfo.CreateNoWindow = Fals
'oStartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = Tru
oStartInfo.UseShellExecute = Fals
oStartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Norma

'sCmdShell = Quote(moConfig.WorkManagerExePath) & " export_native @1 @2
'sCmdShell = Replace(sCmdShell, "@1", moJobQueue.DOC_ELID
'sCmdShell = Replace(sCmdShell, "@2", moJobQueue.PROGRAM_NAME

oProcess = New Process(
oProcess.StartInfo = oStartInf

'Shell(sCmdShell, AppWinStyle.Hide, True
oProcess.Start(
oProcessMonitor = New ProcessMonitor("java"
oProcessMonitor.Start(
oProcess.WaitForExit(
'System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine(oProcess.Stand ardOutput.ReadToEnd
'Dim sValue As String = oProcess.StandardOutput.ReadToEn
oProcess.Dispose(
oProcessMonitor = Nothin
Catc
Return Fals
End Tr

'check to make sure our export is there ..
If FileExists(msExportFileName) = False The
Return Fals
End I

Return Tru
End Function 'export the workmanager fil

It looks very much like somehow, internally to .NET, the .cmd file is getting stored in a buffer with maximum size around 1000 bytes. When the file is bigger, it gets truncated

I'm hoping someone from Microsoft can look in to this problem

Thank

[Herfried K. Wagner [MVP]]

* =?Utf-8?B?TGVvIEhlc2th?= <le*******@molex.com> scripsit:

We have an application written in VB.NET which executes a batch file
(named startJob.cmd). We have discovered that if that batch file is too
big, the last lines of the batch file will not run. For example, the
following one-line batch file runs just fine when invoked from our
VB.NET app:

Does it work when using this sample?

<http://www.mvps.org/dotnet/dotnet/samples/miscsamples/downloads/RedirectConsole.zip>

--
Herfried K. Wagner [MVP]
<http://www.mvps.org/dotnet>

[Leo Heska]

Hi.

We haven't tried using the technique shown in the sample at
http://www.mvps.org/dotnet/dotnet/sa...loads/Redirect
Console.zip, because that technique, involving starting a second thread,
won't do what we want. We want the .NET process to run the batch file,
wait until the batch process is done running, get back control after the
batch process is done, and continue running. Starting a second thread
doesn't do that; the processes would run in parallel.

We could perform the test, but the result (the problem either does or
does not happen when using threads), though interesting, would not be
useful to us.

Regards

Leo Heska
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[Herfried K. Wagner [MVP]]

* Leo Heska <le*******@molex.com> scripsit:

We haven't tried using the technique shown in the sample at
http://www.mvps.org/dotnet/dotnet/sa...loads/Redirect
Console.zip, because that technique, involving starting a second thread,
won't do what we want. We want the .NET process to run the batch file,
wait until the batch process is done running, get back control after the
batch process is done, and continue running. Starting a second thread
doesn't do that; the processes would run in parallel.

I still don't understand what's the problem? Synchronization using a
Boolean variable should not be a big problem.

--
Herfried K. Wagner [MVP]
<http://www.mvps.org/dotnet>