Ruby Equivalent to Python os.startfile?

Ruby
1

In Windows cmd.exe, if I enter the name of a file with a Windows
extension, Windows will start the file as if I double clicked on it in
Windows explorer. E.g.

D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My Documents/DailyNotes>070701.doc
[Word starts and opens the file 070701.doc]

In Python I can achieve the same result by using

os.startfile(“D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My
Documents/DailyNotes/070701.doc”)

However I have not been able to find the equivalent method in Ruby.

Exec gives Errno::ENOEXEC: Exec format error

Any suggestions?

2

From: “Wesley R.” [email protected]

In Windows cmd.exe, if I enter the name of a file with a Windows
extension, Windows will start the file as if I double clicked on it in
Windows explorer. E.g.

D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My Documents/DailyNotes>070701.doc
[Word starts and opens the file 070701.doc]

Seems to work on XP:

system(“start D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My
Documents/DailyNotes/070701.doc”)

Hope this helps,

Bill

3

Bill – thanks very helpful. At least on my XP system it takes two more
tweaks to make it work, or a tweak and a counter-tweak.

Tweak: For some reason, on my system, system() and exec() don’t handle
the path with embedded spaces properly. I have to wrap the path in
double-quote marks.

Counter-tweak: The Windows command language, well known as a bastion of
inconsistency :-), treats the first parameter of a Start command
differently when it is enclosed in quotes. It becomes the title for the
Window.

This adaptation of your suggestion seems to work for me.

system(‘start “” “D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My
Documents/DailyNotes/070701.doc”’)

Bill K. wrote:

From: “Wesley R.” [email protected]

In Windows cmd.exe, if I enter the name of a file with a Windows
extension, Windows will start the file as if I double clicked on it in
Windows explorer. E.g.

D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My Documents/DailyNotes>070701.doc
[Word starts and opens the file 070701.doc]

Seems to work on XP:

system(“start D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My
Documents/DailyNotes/070701.doc”)

Hope this helps,

Bill

4

Does

system(‘start D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My
Documents/DailyNotes/070701.doc’)

work?

I think I’ve seen this use, though rethinking it doesn’t make much sense
now :S

Aur

5

Thanks. I found that this approach needs a couple of tweaks:

Tweak: For some reason, on my system, system() and exec() don’t handle
the path with embedded spaces properly. I have to wrap the path in
double-quote marks.

Counter-tweak: The Windows command language, well known as a bastion of
consistency :-), treats the first parameter of a Start command
differently when it is enclosed in quotes. It becomes the title for the
Window.

This adaptation of your suggestion seems to work for me.

system(‘start “” “D:/Documents and Settings/WRishel/My
Documents/DailyNotes/070701.doc”’)