How do I pass a command to the command prompt using Visual C#?

Question

I am creating a Visual C# application that fills in the correct parameters in the command prompt to retrieve iTunes Sales and Trends data. My goal is to pass a string to the command prompt but I've only gotten as far is to locating the right directory. Below is the code I currently have.

string argument = (@"c/ java Autoingestion Credentials.properties " + lblVenderID.Text + " " + ddlReportType.Text + " " + ddlDateType.Text + " " + ddlReportSubtype.Text + " " + txtDate.Text);

System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo process = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo();
        process.FileName = "cmd.exe";
        process.WorkingDirectory = "C:/iTunes Sales Report/AutoIngestion";
        System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine(argument);
        process.WindowStyle = System.Diagnostics.ProcessWindowStyle.Maximized;
        System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(process);

As you can in the picture, it locates to the directory that I hard coded in, but it does not display the string of text that actually runs the command I want it to run.

If there is a way to display the text in the command line before pressing enter to run the command automatically that would be great. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Answer 1

If you are trying to run a cmd and write to it then this should do it:

var processInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
                    {
                        FileName = "cmd.exe",
                        WorkingDirectory = "C:/iTunes Sales Report/AutoIngestion",
                        RedirectStandardInput = true,
                        RedirectStandardOutput = true,
                        RedirectStandardError = true,
                        UseShellExecute = false,
                        CreateNoWindow = false
                    };

var process = new Process {StartInfo = processInfo };

process.Start();

// This will write your command and excute it
process.StandardInput.WriteLine(argument);

process.WaitForExit();

If you want to view the output, here is how:

string output = string.Empty;
string error = string.Empty;

//If you want to read the Output of that argument
using (StreamReader streamReader = process.StandardOutput)
      {
          output = streamReader.ReadToEnd();
      }

//If you want to read the Error produced by the argument *if any*
using (StreamReader streamReader = process.StandardError)
      {
          error = streamReader.ReadToEnd();
      }