[vbox-dev] Result and exit code for [VBoxManage guestcontrol execute] without --wait flags

[Erik Leunissen]

Hi,

When not using one of the flags --wait-stdout --wait-stderr or 
--wait-exit to "VBoxManage guestcontrol execute", the current[*] 
behaviour w.r.t. exit code and standard output is:

a. nothing is written to stdout, unless the --verbose flag was specified 
on the command line.
b. the exit code is invariably 1, indicating failure, even if the 
process was launched successfully.


I'd like to propose to change this behaviour as follows:

a. result on stdout is the PID of the newly launched process (just the 
number), without needing to pass the --verbose flag on the command line.
b. exit code indicates success of program launch (exit code = 0), or 
some failure (exit code <> 0)

Advantages (IMHO) over the current behaviour:
- correct distinction between success and failure of program launch, 
where real failure cases can be handled specifically.
- straightforward support for further programmatic control of the newly 
launched process through its PID

Any comments, thoughts ... ?


Greetings,

Erik Leunissen.

--
[*] Version 4.1.18, Host: Linux OpenSuSE 11.4, Guest: Windows Vista