Invoking external executable without system()

[wasabi]

Can it be done? I've looked around a bit but everyone says it's either system() or a OS-dependent solution. And since I've never had to deal with OS-dependent solutions, I have no idea how to do such a thing. It's for Windows, so I know I have to #include <windows.h>, but other than that, not a clue.

Any help? Or is this an exception to the "system() is evil" rule?

EDIT: Ah, its actually not an executable, its a batch file.

[ultifinitus]

well you can go OS-dependent, it's not a big deal. With windows you can use createProcess() and you have some pretty good flexibility. BSD system you can fork, if you need to (not with a batch file of course) if you need to be sure of continuity you can use hashes.

System isn't evil, it's just misused.