Function Details : system

intsystem(const char * command) ;

Return Type : int

Integer type (typically 4 bytes, -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647)

Read about return values of system function .

1st Parameter Type : const char *

Pointer to read-only string

1st Parameter

Pointer to a null-terminated string containing the command to be executed by the host environment's command processor. If this is `NULL`, the function simply checks for the availability of a command processor.

Read more about parameters of system in parameters section

The systemfunction in C language Executes a command string in a command processor or shell.

The system function passes the command string to the host environment to be executed by a command processor. The command is executed in a separate process, and the calling process waits for its completion. This function provides a way to execute system commands from within a C program.

The systemfunction takes 1 parameter:

•
const char * `command`: Pointer to a null-terminated string containing the command to be executed by the host environment's command processor. If this is `NULL`, the function simply checks for the availability of a command processor.

Executes the command specified by the string `command` in a new process, using the host environment's command processor. If `command` is `NULL`, the function returns a nonzero value if a command processor is available, or `0` otherwise. Returns the exit status of the command or `-1` if a new process could not be created.

The system function return value :

If command is NULL, returns nonzero if a command processor is available
If command is not NULL, returns the exit status of the command executed (implementation-defined)
If a child process could not be created or its status could not be retrieved, -1 is returned

Output

This example demonstrates basic usage of system to execute the 'ls -l' command on a Unix-like system. It also checks the return value to determine if the command was executed successfully.