exec command android native code

Question

I am trying to launch an android applications from native code.

In adb shell we can launch applications using "am" command.

Link:

Is there any way to invoke this "am" command through C code?

I tried the following line but exec is returning -1:

  ret = execl("/system/bin/am", "start", "-a", "android.intent.action.MAIN",
 "-n", "com.android.settings/.Settings", (char *)NULL);

Is this right or not?

in android only.. i put it in a working c code in android.... exec is failing — Bineesh, Mar 02 '12 at 12:34
Does `/system/bin/am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.settings/.Settings` works launched from terminal? — m0skit0, Mar 02 '12 at 13:40
ya its working in adb shell.. it will launch the settings menu — Bineesh, Mar 02 '12 at 14:33

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 04 '12 at 11:11

1

I got the answer... I 'exec'ed the shell itself and gave it the command... It worked

ret = execl("/system/bin/sh", "sh", "-c", "am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n   com.android.browser/.BrowserActivity", (char *)NULL);

Thanks to m0skit0, Padma Kumar, Yuri ...

edited Mar 04 '12 at 11:11

FelipeAls

answered Mar 03 '12 at 11:16

Bineesh

It's not entirely clear why using a shell would make a difference here. However note that calling an exec family function without first calling fork() **replaces** the calling program - which, if that was an android app will look like a crash. – Chris Stratton Jun 21 '13 at 12:25

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 09 '15 at 02:38

0

you should use system() family method ,first it will fork child process and invoke shell then return,so it will not block android main thread

answered Feb 09 '15 at 02:38

Dartan Li

This should maybe have been a comment, not an answer. With a bit more rep, [you will be able to post comments](http://stackoverflow.com/privileges/comment). – Nathan Tuggy Feb 09 '15 at 02:58
system will block whatever thread it is called from. So don't call this from your main thread. – vharron Apr 30 '19 at 03:30

2 Answers2