We Keep Coding

Read multiple .txt files at once with console command

Hi I'm programing a console application that reads in the text of a .txt file and then calculates the Flesch Score (how easy a text is to read). It's already able to get started by the console by typing in the path and some parameters f.e. -f "filename" or -e for english. Now I want to read in multiple textfiles with the command -f "testfile*.txt. The * means that it doesn't matter what is written after f.e. enumeration. How can I achieve that with a console command? Correct me if I'm wrong with something I'm kind of new to programing :)
Here's how I am doing it:
string[] parameters = new string[] { "-f", "-e", "-g" };
Flesch_Reading_Ease.FleschScore.Language lang = FleschScore.Language.Undefined;
string filename = "";
foreach (string arg in args)
{
switch (arg.Trim().ToLower())
{
case "-e":
lang = Flesch_Reading_Ease.FleschScore.Language.English;
break;
case "-g":
lang = Flesch_Reading_Ease.FleschScore.Language.German;
break;
case "-f":
break;
default:
{
if (File.Exists(arg))
filename = arg;
}
break;
}
}

If you use the Directory.GetFiles method it will return a list of files that match the wildcard:
string[] files = Directory.GetFiles(folder, arg);
where folder is the name of the directory you're looking in. You'll either have to assume the current folder "." or split the path from the input arguments.
You can then loop over this list:
foreach (var file in files)
{
// Do your processing
}

Passing parameters from one app to the other

Following on from this thread Starting application before target application
I have an application which gets passed a parameter (a filename) and does some registry work before opening Microsoft InfoPath.
I need to open InfoPath with the parameter that was passed to the original application.
Here is how I open InfoPath
System.Diagnostics.Process prc = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
prc.StartInfo.Arguments = ConvertArrayToString(Constants.Arguments);
//prc.StartInfo.Arguments = "hello";
prc.StartInfo.FileName = Constants.PathToInfoPath;
prc.Start();
Note that when I set the Arguments to "hello" InfoPath pops up a message saying cannot find file "hello" however when I set it Constants.Arguments I get an error and Windows asks me if I want to debug or close the applicatiion.
Here is how I set Constants.Arguments in the Main(string[] args)
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Constants.Arguments = args;
//...
}
And here is ConvertArrayToString
private string ConvertArrayToString(string[] arr)
{
string rtn = "";
foreach (string s in arr)
{
rtn += s;
}
return rtn;
}
I suppose the format of the parameter is causing the error, any idea why?
The value of Arguments after being stringed is
c:\users\accountname\Desktop\HSE-000403.xml
Edit:
Thanks to N K's answer.
The issue is in order for my application to open when InfoPath files are opened, I have changed the name of INFOPATH.EXE to INFOPATH0.EXE and my application is called INFOPATH.EXE and is in the InfoPath folder, so when files are opened my application opens.
Now when I do not change the name (eg I leave it as INFOPATH.EXE) it works as expected, however if it is called anything other than that then I get the error.
Unfortunately I need my application to open first.

I tried the below and it's works fine. Let me know what you get with this. (Don't forget to change path to files)
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
System.Diagnostics.Process prc = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
prc.StartInfo.Arguments = string.Join("", Constants.Arguments);
prc.StartInfo.FileName = Constants.PathToInfoPath;
prc.Start();
}
}
public class Constants
{
public static string PathToInfoPath = #"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\INFOPATH.EXE";
public static string[] Arguments = new string[] { #"c:\users\accountname\Desktop\HSE-000403.xml" };
}

Running C# with batch parameters

In java you can pass parameters to the program through batch. How can I do that in C#?
Like if I needed the program to receive a file name how can I get it to the program?

Supposing you have created a C# console application (exe), it will be created with a main static method that receives an array of strings. Those strings will be the arguments passed to the program.
For example:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine(string.Join("\n", args));
}
}
If your console application is named "MyApp.exe", you could pass parameters is this way:
MyApp.exe "first arg" second
And you should get this output:

The Main() routine in your application receives an array of strings which contain the arguments which were passed in on the command line.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
foreach (string s in args)
{
Console.WriteLine(s);
}
Console.ReadLine();
}

Outside of Main you can use Environment.GetCommandLineArgs().
string[] args = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs();

If you are trying to read the output from *.bat files this will help you..`
Process thisProcess = new Process();
thisProcess.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
thisProcess.StartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
thisProcess.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = #"C:\Users\My User Name\Documents";
thisProcess.StartInfo.FileName = "ipconfig";
thisProcess.StartInfo.Arguments = "/h";
thisProcess.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
thisProcess.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
thisProcess.Start();
thisProcess.WaitForExit();
//Output from the batch file
string myOutput = thisProcess.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();

Getting an index outside bound of an array in C#

This program is supposed to show the path of a directory and the directory if its exists then it should also show the files inside with the following extensions (i.e .doc, .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg) but I'm getting an error
*Index was outside the bounds of the array.
on this line of code
string directoryPath = args[0];
This is the code in the main function
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string directoryPath = args[0];
string[] filesList, filesListTmp;
IFileOperation[] opList = { new FileProcNameAfter10(),
new FileProcEnc(),
new FileProcByExt("jpeg"),
new FileProcByExt("jpg"),
new FileProcByExt("doc"),
new FileProcByExt("pdf"),
new FileProcByExt("djvu")
};
if (Directory.Exists(directoryPath))
{
filesList = Directory.GetFiles(directoryPath);
while (true)
{
Thread.Sleep(500);
filesListTmp = Directory.GetFiles(directoryPath);
foreach (var elem in Enumerable.Except<string>(filesListTmp, filesList))
{
Console.WriteLine(elem);
foreach (var op in opList)
{
if (op.Accept(elem)) op.Process(elem);
}
}
filesList = filesListTmp;
if (Console.KeyAvailable == true && Console.ReadKey(true).Key == ConsoleKey.Escape) break;
}
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("There is no such directory.");
}
}
}
How can I handle this error it seems to be common but it happens id different ways

You need to pass the necessary arguments to the program when running it. You can either do this by running the program from the command line, or else when running Visual Studio by doing the following:
Right click on project
Properties
Debug tag
Enter arguments under Start Options -> Command line arguments

You might want to pass the arguments into the program from command line.
like this:
> yourProgram.exe directoryName
Also, to avoid such problems in the code,
if(args.Length > 0){
string directoryPath = args[0];
}else{
//print a help message and exit, or do something like set the
//default directoryPath to current directory
}

Do you want the user to enter a path when the program starts or when they start the program? If it's the first, then you should add a Console.Read() method that asks for the path.
If it's the latter, then you need to pass the path as an argument when starting the program. You should also do a check against the args array before reading from it to check that it contains data and that data is a valid path.
Something like:
if(args.Length > 0 && Directory.Exists(args[0]))
{
// Do Something.
}

C# Problem Reading Console Output to string

i want to launch ffmpeg from my app and retrive all console output that ffmpeg produces. Thing seems obvious, i followed many forum threads/articles like this one but i have problem, though i follow all information included there I seem to end up in dead end.
String that should contain output from ffmpeg is always empty. I've tried to see where is the problem so i made simple c# console application that only lists all execution parameters that are passed to ffmpeg, just to check if problem is caused by ffmpeg itself. In that case everything work as expected.
I also did preview console window of my app. When i launch ffmpeg i see all the output in console but the function that should recieve that output for further processing reports that string was empty. When my param-listing app is launched the only thing I see is the expected report from function that gets output.
So my question is what to do to get ffmpeg output as i intended at first place.
Thanks in advance
MTH

This is a long shot, but have you tried redirecting StandardError too?

Here is a part of my ffmpeg wrapper class, in particular showing how to collect the output and errors from ffmpeg.
I have put the Process in the GetVideoDuration() function just so you can see everything in the one place.
Setup:
My ffmpeg is on the desktop, ffPath is used to point to it.
namespace ChildTools.Tools
{
public class FFMpegWrapper
{
//path to ffmpeg (I HATE!!! MS special folders)
string ffPath = System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop) + "\\ffmpeg.exe";
//outputLines receives each line of output, only if they are not zero length
List<string> outputLines = new List<string>();
//In GetVideoDuration I only want the one line of output and in text form.
//To get the whole output just remove the filter I use (my search for 'Duration') and either return the List<>
//Or joint the strings from List<> (you could have used StringBuilder, but I find a List<> handier.
public string GetVideoDuration(FileInfo fi)
{
outputLines.Clear();
//I only use the information flag in this function
string strCommand = string.Concat(" -i \"", fi.FullName, "\"");
//Point ffPath to my ffmpeg
string ffPath = System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop) + "\\ffmpeg.exe";
Process processFfmpeg = new Process();
processFfmpeg.StartInfo.Arguments = strCommand;
processFfmpeg.StartInfo.FileName = ffPath;
//I have to say that I struggled for a while with the order that I setup the process.
//But this order below I know to work
processFfmpeg.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
processFfmpeg.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
processFfmpeg.StartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
processFfmpeg.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
processFfmpeg.ErrorDataReceived += processFfmpeg_OutData;
processFfmpeg.OutputDataReceived += processFfmpeg_OutData;
processFfmpeg.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
processFfmpeg.Start();
processFfmpeg.BeginOutputReadLine();
processFfmpeg.BeginErrorReadLine();
processFfmpeg.WaitForExit();
//I filter the lines because I only want 'Duration' this time
string oStr = "";
foreach (string str in outputLines)
{
if (str.Contains("Duration"))
{
oStr = str;
}
}
//return a single string with the duration line
return oStr;
}
private void processFfmpeg_OutData(object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
//The data we want is in e.Data, you must be careful of null strings
string strMessage = e.Data;
if outputLines != null && strMessage != null && strMessage.Length > 0)
{
outputLines.Add(string.Concat( strMessage,"\n"));
//Try a Console output here to see all of the output. Particularly
//useful when you are examining the packets and working out timeframes
//Console.WriteLine(strMessage);
}
}
}
}