Execute External Program like Windows Media Player in Java

Using the Runtime class

Java provides a class named java.lang.Runtime, using this class you can interface with the current environment.

The getRunTime() (static) method of this class returns a Runtime object associated with the current application.

The exec() method accepts a String value representing the command to execute a process in the current environment (system) and executes it.

Therefore, to execute an external application using the Runtime class −

• Get the run time object using the getRuntime() method.

• Execute the required process by passing the path of it as a String value to the exec() method.

Example

import java.io.IOException;
public class Trail {
   public static void main(String args[]) throws IOException {
      Runtime run = Runtime.getRuntime();
      System.out.println("Executing the external program . . . . . . . .");
      String file = "C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe";
      run.exec(file);
   }
}

Output

System.out.println("Executing the external program . . . . . . . .

Using the ProcessBuilder class

Similarly, the constructor of the ProcessBuilder class accepts a variable arguments of type string representing the command to execute a process and its arguments as parameters and constructs an object.

The start() method of this class starts/executes the process(es) in the current ProcessBuilder. Therefore, to run an external program using the ProcessBuilder class −

• Instantiate the ProcessBuilder class by passing the command to execute a process and arguments for it as parameters to its constructor.

• Execute the process by invoking the start() method on the above created object.

Example

 Live Demo

import java.io.IOException;
public class ExternalProcess {
   public static void main(String args[]) throws IOException {
      String command = "C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe";
      String arg = "D:\sample.mp3";
      //Building a process
      ProcessBuilder builder = new ProcessBuilder(command, arg);
      System.out.println("Executing the external program . . . . . . . .");
      //Starting the process
      builder.start();
   }
}

Output

Executing the external program . . . . . . . .