IMPORTANT: Please read this file before attempting to compile any of the demo projects.
The Demos directory and its sub-directories contain thirteen small programs that demonstrate how to use the PJConsoleApp unit.
A VCL based version of each demo program is in its own sub-directory - Demos\Demo1 through to Demos\Demo13.
Demos 4, 8 and 11 are also available in versions that uses the FireMonkey 2 framework instead of the VCL. These projects are in the Demos\Demo4\FMX2, Demos\Demo8\FMX2 and Demos\Demo11\FMX2 directories respectively.
Demo 13 comprises two projects: both must be compiled in order to run the demo successfully.
In addition there are two example console applications that the demos use. They are supplied in source form and need to be built. The project files are in Demos\TestApps\Echoer and Demos\TestApps\Timed.
The Demos directory itself contains a .bpg format project group file that includes all the VCL demo projects and the example console applications in a single project group. FireMonkey versions of any demo project are NOT included in the project group and must be opened separately.
Finally there's an Demos\IOUtils sub-directory (explained in Dependencies below) and a Demos\TestData directory which stores any data files required by the demo programs.
The 13 demos are:
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ExecAndWait
Implements the traditional "ExecAndWait" routine to run a child console application using TPJConsoleApp.
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A better ExecAndWait
Implements an improved "ExecAndWait" routine that lets the GUI program remain interactive while the child console application is running.
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Indicating progress
Shows how to display a progress meter in the GUI while a child console application is running.
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Timing out
How to set a maximum time for a child console application to run and how to handle time-outs.
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Terminating an application
Shows how to forcible terminate a child console application.
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Redirecting standard I/O using files
How to redirect a child console application's standard input and output from and to files.
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Redirecting standard I/O using pipes
How to redirect a child console application's standard input and output from and to pipes.
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Capturing console output in a GUI
Demonstrates how to capture a child console application's output and display it in a GUI in "real time".
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Sub-classing TPJConsoleApp
Shows how to write your own sub class of TPJCustomConsoleApp to specialise its behaviour.
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Using TPJConsoleApp from console applications
Demonstrates how to use TPJConsoleApp to enable a console application to spawn child processes.
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Customising the appearance of the console
Shows how to customise the appearance of any console that is used to display the output of a child console application.
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Handling Unicode output from console applications
How to handle output from child console applications that output Unicode text instead of ANSI or ASCII text.
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Customising a console app's environment block
Shows how to pass a custom environment block to a console app process. This demo contains two projects: a parent app that configure the environment block that is passed to, and displayed by, a custom console app.
For further information see the Console Application Runner Classes Examples documentation where you will find a set of examples based on the demo programs. The number of each example relates to the number of the associated demo project.
Delphi 7 or later are required to build the VCL based demo projects as 32 bit Windows applications. To build 64 bit versions of the demos, Delphi XE2 or later is required.
The FireMonkey 2 based demos require Delphi XE3 or later.
All the demo programs require that PJConsoleApp.pas is located in the parent directory of the Demos folder.
Demos 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 also require one or more units from the I/O Utility Classes project. You will need to download this project and place the PJPipe.pas, PJFileHandle.pas and PJPipeFilters.pas files in the Demos\IOUtils directory. A zip file containing the I/O Utility Classes project can be downloaded from the project's releases page on GitHub.
If you are using Delphi XE5 or later ensure that you use I/O Utility Classes v1.0.1 or later.
The example console applications have no external dependencies.
First ensure all the required files listed in Dependencies above are in place for the demos you want to build.
Note for Delphi 2007 users. The supplied
.dprojproject files are not compatible with Delphi 2007. Alternative files, with the.dproj.2007extension have been provided for use with Delphi 2007. A batch file,Prepare2007.bat, is provided in theDemosdirectory that will replace existing.dprojfiles with the content of the.proj.2007files. To run this batch file, open a command window and make theDemosdirectory current. Now simply run the batch file by typing its name.
From your Delphi IDE open Demos\PJConsoleAppDemos.bpg. The VCL demo projects and the example console application projects should all be listed in the IDE's Project Manager window.
You can now build selected demos or compile them all in one go using the Projects | Build All Projects menu option.
To build the FireMonkey 2 demos you must open their .dproj files one at a time and build them.
Delphi may update the project or project group files. If this happens you may need to restore the original files before re-compiling with a different version of Delphi.
Each demo project is configured to compile as a 32 bit Windows application. They will all compile successfully as 64 bit Windows applications with Delphi XE2 and later, but you will need to manually add 64 bit targets to each project individually.
Note: some versions of Delphi may generate hints, or possibly warnings, depending on your set-up. These should not cause a problem.
All the demo project files are for illustration purposes only. Although you can use them as you wish, you should not use any part of them in production code without thorough testing.
The code distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.