I am trying to launch a process with CreateProcess() with stdin and stdout redirected to pipes. When the child process consists of just printf() statements, I see them piped up to the parent and displayed just fine. If my child process does a printf() and a _getch() statement, then things fail. I have considered a possible deadlock between the pipes in several ways to no avail:
I'm left suspecting a subtle configuration issue somewhere. This is part of an issue in a larger program but I've reduced it to this simple test case. I started with the Microsoft example for "Creating a Child Process with Redirected Input and Output". That worked, so maybe the child process using ReadFile() works, but my problem is _getch() (among other programs that seem to have related failures). I replaced the child process with my test program and it stalls. I try solving deadlocks as above, with the overlapped I/O achieved following this example for using named pipes to this purpose (in my reading someone mentioned that the Windows implementation of named and anonymous pipes are reasonably unified).
Again, works if the child issues only printfs but fails with _getch(). Of note is that if a _getch() is present in the child program then even the printfs don't show up - even printfs() issued before the _getch(). I've read that pipes have buffering and as above they have potential deadlocks waiting on the other end of the pipe, but I can't think what else I can do to avoid that besides what's done below.
Just in case, I also made sure I had a large heap buffer for the command-line buffer since CreateProcess() is known to modify it.
Here is my parent test code, with those first booleans configuring overlapped/not overlapped behavior:
#include <string>
#include <Windows.h>
#include <tchar.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <strsafe.h>
#include <conio.h>
#include <assert.h>
TCHAR szCmdline[] = TEXT("child.exe");
bool OverlappedStdOutRd = true;
bool OverlappedStdInWr = true;
#define BUFSIZE 4096
HANDLE g_hChildStd_IN_Rd = NULL;
HANDLE g_hChildStd_IN_Wr = NULL;
HANDLE g_hChildStd_OUT_Rd = NULL;
HANDLE g_hChildStd_OUT_Wr = NULL;
using namespace std;
void ErrorExit(PTSTR lpszFunction)
// Format a readable error message, display a message box,
// and exit from the application.
{
LPVOID lpMsgBuf;
LPVOID lpDisplayBuf;
DWORD dw = GetLastError();
FormatMessage(
FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER |
FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM |
FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS,
NULL,
dw,
MAKELANGID(LANG_NEUTRAL, SUBLANG_DEFAULT),
(LPTSTR)&lpMsgBuf,
0, NULL);
lpDisplayBuf = (LPVOID)LocalAlloc(LMEM_ZEROINIT,
(lstrlen((LPCTSTR)lpMsgBuf) + lstrlen((LPCTSTR)lpszFunction) + 40) * sizeof(TCHAR));
StringCchPrintf((LPTSTR)lpDisplayBuf,
LocalSize(lpDisplayBuf) / sizeof(TCHAR),
TEXT("%s failed with error %d: %s"),
lpszFunction, dw, lpMsgBuf);
MessageBox(NULL, (LPCTSTR)lpDisplayBuf, TEXT("Error"), MB_OK);
LocalFree(lpMsgBuf);
LocalFree(lpDisplayBuf);
ExitProcess(1);
}
static ULONG PipeSerialNumber = 1;
static BOOL APIENTRY MyCreatePipeEx(
OUT LPHANDLE lpReadPipe,
OUT LPHANDLE lpWritePipe,
IN LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpPipeAttributes,
IN DWORD nSize,
DWORD dwReadMode,
DWORD dwWriteMode
)
/*++
Routine Description:
The CreatePipeEx API is used to create an anonymous pipe I/O device.
Unlike CreatePipe FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED may be specified for one or
both handles.
Two handles to the device are created. One handle is opened for
reading and the other is opened for writing. These handles may be
used in subsequent calls to ReadFile and WriteFile to transmit data
through the pipe.
Arguments:
lpReadPipe - Returns a handle to the read side of the pipe. Data
may be read from the pipe by specifying this handle value in a
subsequent call to ReadFile.
lpWritePipe - Returns a handle to the write side of the pipe. Data
may be written to the pipe by specifying this handle value in a
subsequent call to WriteFile.
lpPipeAttributes - An optional parameter that may be used to specify
the attributes of the new pipe. If the parameter is not
specified, then the pipe is created without a security
descriptor, and the resulting handles are not inherited on
process creation. Otherwise, the optional security attributes
are used on the pipe, and the inherit handles flag effects both
pipe handles.
nSize - Supplies the requested buffer size for the pipe. This is
only a suggestion and is used by the operating system to
calculate an appropriate buffering mechanism. A value of zero
indicates that the system is to choose the default buffering
scheme.
Return Value:
TRUE - The operation was successful.
FALSE/NULL - The operation failed. Extended error status is available
using GetLastError.
--*/
{
HANDLE ReadPipeHandle, WritePipeHandle;
DWORD dwError;
CHAR PipeNameBuffer[MAX_PATH];
//
// Only one valid OpenMode flag - FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED
//
if ((dwReadMode | dwWriteMode) & (~FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED)) {
SetLastError(ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER);
return FALSE;
}
//
// Set the default timeout to 120 seconds
//
if (nSize == 0) {
nSize = 4096;
}
sprintf_s(PipeNameBuffer,
"\\\\.\\Pipe\\TruthPipe.%08x.%08x",
GetCurrentProcessId(),
PipeSerialNumber++ // TODO: Should use InterlockedIncrement() here to be thread-safe.
);
ReadPipeHandle = CreateNamedPipeA(
PipeNameBuffer,
PIPE_ACCESS_INBOUND | dwReadMode,
PIPE_TYPE_BYTE | PIPE_WAIT,
1, // Number of pipes
nSize, // Out buffer size
nSize, // In buffer size
1000, // Timeout in ms
lpPipeAttributes
);
if (!ReadPipeHandle) {
return FALSE;
}
WritePipeHandle = CreateFileA(
PipeNameBuffer,
GENERIC_WRITE,
0, // No sharing
lpPipeAttributes,
OPEN_EXISTING,
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL | dwWriteMode,
NULL // Template file
);
if (INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE == WritePipeHandle) {
dwError = GetLastError();
CloseHandle(ReadPipeHandle);
SetLastError(dwError);
return FALSE;
}
*lpReadPipe = ReadPipeHandle;
*lpWritePipe = WritePipeHandle;
return(TRUE);
}
bool OutstandingWrite = false;
OVERLAPPED WriteOverlapped;
CHAR chWriteBuf[BUFSIZE];
DWORD dwBytesWritten;
DWORD dwBytesToWrite;
bool OutstandingRead = false;
OVERLAPPED ReadOverlapped;
CHAR chReadBuf[BUFSIZE];
DWORD dwBytesRead;
void OnReadComplete();
void StartOverlappedRead();
void WaitForIO(bool Wait)
{
HANDLE hEvents[2];
int iEvent = 0;
int iReadEvent = -1;
int iWriteEvent = -1;
if (OutstandingRead) {
hEvents[iEvent] = ReadOverlapped.hEvent;
iReadEvent = iEvent;
iEvent++;
}
if (OutstandingWrite) {
hEvents[iEvent] = WriteOverlapped.hEvent;
iWriteEvent = iEvent;
iEvent++;
}
DWORD dwStatus = WaitForMultipleObjects(iEvent, hEvents, FALSE, Wait ? INFINITE : 250 /*ms*/);
int Index = -2;
switch (dwStatus)
{
case WAIT_OBJECT_0: Index = 0; break;
case WAIT_OBJECT_0 + 1: Index = 1; break;
case WAIT_TIMEOUT: return;
default:
ErrorExit(TEXT("WaitForMultipleObjects"));
}
if (Index == iReadEvent)
{
if (!GetOverlappedResult(
g_hChildStd_OUT_Rd, // handle to pipe
&ReadOverlapped, // OVERLAPPED structure
&dwBytesRead, // bytes transferred
FALSE)) // do not wait
ErrorExit(TEXT("GetOverlappedResult"));
OutstandingRead = false;
if (dwBytesRead > 0) OnReadComplete();
StartOverlappedRead();
}
else if (Index == iWriteEvent)
{
if (!GetOverlappedResult(
g_hChildStd_IN_Wr, // handle to pipe
&WriteOverlapped, // OVERLAPPED structure
&dwBytesWritten, // bytes transferred
FALSE)) // do not wait
ErrorExit(TEXT("GetOverlappedResult"));
if (dwBytesWritten != dwBytesToWrite) ErrorExit(TEXT("Write incomplete."));
OutstandingWrite = false;
}
else ErrorExit(TEXT("WaitForMultipleObjects indexing"));
}
void WriteToPipe(string text)
{
BOOL bSuccess = FALSE;
printf("Writing: %s\n", text.c_str());
if (!OverlappedStdInWr)
{
bSuccess = WriteFile(g_hChildStd_IN_Wr, text.c_str(), (DWORD)text.length(), &dwBytesWritten, NULL);
if (!bSuccess) ErrorExit(TEXT("WriteToPipe"));
return;
}
else
{
while (OutstandingWrite) WaitForIO(true); // Can only have one outstanding write at a time.
WriteOverlapped.Offset = 0;
WriteOverlapped.OffsetHigh = 0;
WriteOverlapped.Pointer = nullptr;
if (text.length() > BUFSIZE) ErrorExit(TEXT("Attempt to write too long a message!"));
CopyMemory(chWriteBuf, text.c_str(), text.length());
dwBytesToWrite = text.length();
bSuccess = WriteFile(g_hChildStd_IN_Wr, chWriteBuf, dwBytesToWrite, &dwBytesWritten, &WriteOverlapped);
if (bSuccess) return;
if (!bSuccess)
{
if (GetLastError() == ERROR_IO_PENDING) {
OutstandingWrite = true;
return;
}
ErrorExit(TEXT("WriteToPipe"));
}
}
}
void OnReadComplete()
{
chReadBuf[dwBytesRead] = '\0';
printf("Rx: ");
for (DWORD ii = 0; ii < dwBytesRead; ii++)
{
if (chReadBuf[ii] >= 0x20 && chReadBuf[ii] <= 0x7e) printf("%c", chReadBuf[ii]);
else
{
printf("\\0x%02X", chReadBuf[ii]);
}
if (chReadBuf[ii] == '\n') printf("\n");
}
printf("\n");
}
void StartOverlappedRead()
{
int loops = 0;
for (;; loops++)
{
if (loops > 10) ErrorExit(TEXT("Read stuck in loop"));
assert(!OutstandingRead);
ReadOverlapped.Offset = 0;
ReadOverlapped.OffsetHigh = 0;
ReadOverlapped.Pointer = nullptr;
BOOL Success = ReadFile(g_hChildStd_OUT_Rd, chReadBuf, BUFSIZE - 1, &dwBytesRead, &ReadOverlapped);
if (!Success && GetLastError() != ERROR_IO_PENDING)
ErrorExit(TEXT("ReadFile"));
if (Success)
{
if (dwBytesRead > 0)
OnReadComplete();
continue;
}
else {
OutstandingRead = true; return;
}
}
}
void ReadFromPipe(void)
// Read output from the child process's pipe for STDOUT
// and write to the parent process's pipe for STDOUT.
// Stop when there is no more data.
{
BOOL bSuccess = FALSE;
if (!OverlappedStdOutRd)
{
for (;;)
{
DWORD total_available_bytes;
if (FALSE == PeekNamedPipe(g_hChildStd_OUT_Rd,
0,
0,
0,
&total_available_bytes,
0))
{
ErrorExit(TEXT("ReadFromPipe - peek"));
return;
}
else if (total_available_bytes == 0)
{
// printf("No new pipe data to read at this time.\n");
return;
}
bSuccess = ReadFile(g_hChildStd_OUT_Rd, chReadBuf, BUFSIZE - 1, &dwBytesRead, NULL);
if (!bSuccess) ErrorExit(TEXT("ReadFromPipe"));
if (dwBytesRead == 0) return;
OnReadComplete();
}
}
else
{
if (!OutstandingRead) StartOverlappedRead();
WaitForIO(false);
}
}
void Create()
{
SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES saAttr;
printf("\n->Start of parent execution.\n");
// Set the bInheritHandle flag so pipe handles are inherited.
saAttr.nLength = sizeof(SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES);
saAttr.bInheritHandle = TRUE;
saAttr.lpSecurityDescriptor = NULL;
if (!OverlappedStdOutRd)
{
// As per the MS example, create anonymous pipes
// Create a pipe for the child process's STDOUT.
if (!CreatePipe(&g_hChildStd_OUT_Rd, &g_hChildStd_OUT_Wr, &saAttr, 0))
ErrorExit(TEXT("StdoutRd CreatePipe"));
}
else
{
// Create overlapped I/O pipes (only one side is overlapped).
if (!MyCreatePipeEx(&g_hChildStd_OUT_Rd, &g_hChildStd_OUT_Wr, &saAttr, 0, FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED, 0))
ErrorExit(TEXT("Stdout MyCreatePipeEx"));
ZeroMemory(&ReadOverlapped, sizeof(ReadOverlapped));
ReadOverlapped.hEvent = CreateEvent(NULL, TRUE, TRUE, NULL); // Manual-reset event, unnamed, initially signalled.
if (ReadOverlapped.hEvent == NULL)
ErrorExit(TEXT("CreateEvent Read"));
}
// Ensure the read handle to the pipe for STDOUT is not inherited.
if (!SetHandleInformation(g_hChildStd_OUT_Rd, HANDLE_FLAG_INHERIT, 0))
ErrorExit(TEXT("Stdout SetHandleInformation"));
if (!OverlappedStdInWr)
{
// Create a pipe for the child process's STDIN.
if (!CreatePipe(&g_hChildStd_IN_Rd, &g_hChildStd_IN_Wr, &saAttr, 0))
ErrorExit(TEXT("Stdin CreatePipe"));
}
else
{
// Create overlapped I/O pipes (only one side is overlapped).
if (!MyCreatePipeEx(&g_hChildStd_IN_Rd, &g_hChildStd_IN_Wr, &saAttr, 0, 0, FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED))
ErrorExit(TEXT("Stdin MyCreatePipeEx"));
ZeroMemory(&WriteOverlapped, sizeof(WriteOverlapped));
WriteOverlapped.hEvent = CreateEvent(NULL, TRUE, TRUE, NULL); // Manual-reset event, unnamed, initially signalled.
if (WriteOverlapped.hEvent == NULL)
ErrorExit(TEXT("CreateEvent Write"));
}
// Ensure the write handle to the pipe for STDIN is not inherited.
if (!SetHandleInformation(g_hChildStd_IN_Wr, HANDLE_FLAG_INHERIT, 0))
ErrorExit(TEXT("Stdin SetHandleInformation"));
// Create the child process.
TCHAR* szMutableCmdline = new TCHAR[1024];
ZeroMemory(szMutableCmdline, 1024 * sizeof(TCHAR));
CopyMemory(szMutableCmdline, szCmdline, _tcslen(szCmdline) * sizeof(TCHAR));
PROCESS_INFORMATION piProcInfo;
STARTUPINFO siStartInfo;
BOOL bSuccess = FALSE;
// Set up members of the PROCESS_INFORMATION structure.
ZeroMemory(&piProcInfo, sizeof(PROCESS_INFORMATION));
// Set up members of the STARTUPINFO structure.
// This structure specifies the STDIN and STDOUT handles for redirection.
ZeroMemory(&siStartInfo, sizeof(STARTUPINFO));
siStartInfo.cb = sizeof(STARTUPINFO);
siStartInfo.hStdError = g_hChildStd_OUT_Wr;
siStartInfo.hStdOutput = g_hChildStd_OUT_Wr;
siStartInfo.hStdInput = g_hChildStd_IN_Rd;
siStartInfo.dwFlags |= STARTF_USESTDHANDLES;
// Create the child process.
bSuccess = CreateProcess(NULL,
szMutableCmdline, // command line
NULL, // process security attributes
NULL, // primary thread security attributes
TRUE, // handles are inherited
0, // creation flags
NULL, // use parent's environment
NULL, // use parent's current directory
&siStartInfo, // STARTUPINFO pointer
&piProcInfo); // receives PROCESS_INFORMATION
// If an error occurs, exit the application.
if (!bSuccess)
ErrorExit(TEXT("CreateProcess"));
else
{
// Close handles to the child process and its primary thread.
// Some applications might keep these handles to monitor the status
// of the child process, for example.
CloseHandle(piProcInfo.hProcess);
CloseHandle(piProcInfo.hThread);
}
}
int main()
{
printf("Launching...\n");
Create();
Sleep(500);
ReadFromPipe();
Sleep(250);
WriteToPipe("A\r\n");
Sleep(250);
ReadFromPipe();
WriteToPipe("\r\n");
Sleep(250);
ReadFromPipe();
WriteToPipe("X\r\n");
Sleep(250);
ReadFromPipe();
Sleep(250);
ReadFromPipe();
printf("Press any key to exit.\n");
_getch();
// TODO: Not doing proper cleanup in this test app. Overlapped I/O, CloseHandles, etc. are outstanding. Bad.
return 0;
}
And child code can be as simple as:
#include <conio.h>
int main()
{
printf("Hello!\n");
_getch();
printf("Bye!\n");
return 0;
}
Edit: As @Rbmm points out, _getch() uses ReadConsoleInput(). I assume it uses CONIN$ as opposed to STDIN. So the question becomes: can I redirect CONIN$ or have the parent process write to it?
In child process after printf you can add fflush(stdout);. This will immediately transfer data from stdout buffer to pipe. In some configurations stdout buffer data is automatically flushed on end of line character \n, but I'm not sure if it is in this case - probably not.
If your child should read data from pipe (not from console) use getchar, fgets, fread, fscanf giving them stdin as stream argument.
int main()
{
printf("Hello!\n");
fflush(stdout);
getchar();
printf("Bye!\n");
fflush(stdout);
return 0;
}
And you don't have dead lock. Your child just waits for char from console. Press Enter key to revive it.