redirect a process started with execv to /dev/null

redirect a process started with execv to /dev/null

 

1

I have a program that forks(), and the child process is replaced by another process, say A, that is ran through invoking execv(A).

How do I redirect process A's output to /dev/null??

I've so far tried : (The handle error parts are taken care of, and no error occurs)

    pid = fork();
    //check for errors
    if (pid<0){
                  //handle error
    }
    //the child process runs here
    if (pid==0){
        fd = open("/dev/null", O_WRONLY);
        if(fd < 0){
                        //hadnle error
        }
        if ( dup2( fd, 1 )  != 1 ) {
                         //handle error 
        }
        if (execv(lgulppath.c_str(),args)<0){
            //handle error
        }
    } 

However, that, understandably doesn't work , since it redirects the child process's output to /dev/null and not process A's, later to replace the child, output.

Any ideas? (I don't have the code of A's process)

Thanks

• c++
• linux
• fork
• stdout

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edited Nov 21, 2012 at 11:03

CAMOBAP

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asked Nov 21, 2012 at 10:54

Alon_T

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• Your code looks correct. Where do you get an error? Why do you say "this understandably doesn't work"?

  – Olaf Dietsche

  Nov 21, 2012 at 11:04
• @OlafDietsche, notice that the open and dup2 are invoked before execv is, when open and dup2 are invoked, they redirect the child's process's output to /dev/null.However, when execv is invoked it replaces the child process, and process A's(the one that replaced the child process) will now outputs to stdout and not /dev/null

  – Alon_T

  Nov 21, 2012 at 11:09
• @user1432779 execv replaces the executable image. It does not change any open files. The dup2 sets standard out to /dev/null, and this will not be changed by the execv.

  – James Kanze

  Nov 21, 2012 at 11:14

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1 Answer

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1

One possibility could be, that process A writes to stderr instead of stdout.

Then you must dup2(fd, 2) instead.

If process A writes to stdout and stderr, you must dup2() both:

if (dup2(fd, 1) < 0) {
    // error handling
}

if (dup2(fd, 2) < 0) {
    // error handling
}