World: r3wp

C:\Users\Ken\Dropbox\Rebol\rebol.exe -s C:\Users\Ken\Dropbox\Rebol\ping-servers.r

try using call/wait/output. Your above code should work though ...

When you use the /input, /output, /error, or /console refinements 
you automatically set the /wait refinement. -- according to the docs, 
but I will try it anyway :)

Tried it - it still hangs, bizarre!!

What's the command in Crimson Editor for running a file of that type?

C:\Users\Ken\Dropbox\Rebol\rebol.exe  -s "$(FilePath)" 
The intial directory is: $(FileDir)

I'm using REBOL 2.7.8.3.1

hmm, I tried call/output "start ping 10.10.10.10 -n 2" tmp: copy 
"", and R2 hangs too ....

It works without start though, even if you do call/show. Maybe it's 
a bad interaction with start, Pekr.

Works here on Windows 7 (using Singy's command-line). I'm using REBOL 
2.7.6 though, so it might be another issue with CALL native in 2.7.8.

Dock the shortcut target line, when run in a cmd console runs the 
program fine. The only time it does not run is when I try to run 
the same command from the shortcut!

With Pekr's command-line, it hangs on once the ping finished.

Let me try with a shortcut on 2.7.6...

With a shorcut, it hangs too, but if you add a /SHOW refinement to 
CALL, it works.

Cool! Yes it does. Thanks Doc, but strange why it should need that 
- especially when the ugly blank console window now pops up.

/SHOW is for showing the shell window, it's blank because the output 
is captured by REBOL.

It's probably a REBOL bug.

(the hanging, not the blank window).

Yes I think it is a bug, because the whole point of /output is to 
not use shell window but to capture the data that would be sent to 
it and use it instead in your program. Anyway - at least this is 
a workaround for now. Thanks for your input guys :))

/SHOW is a late addition to CALL, we used to live with the DOS window 
for years.

Well - looks like I might be living with it for a few more yet - 
grins.

I have another question - probably a dumb one - can you use make 
routine! to tap into .Net or is this impossible because it is a managed 
language?

make routine!

 only works on LOADable libraries, so you guessed right, you cannot 
 do that for managed code.

Thanks Doc. However, is there a way to tap into .Net from REBOL? 
As a network admin it would be useful at times. I know you can use 
call to draw upon powershell which in turn can use .Net but that 
seems a bit convoluted. Also I can use wmic via call as well. Any 
other thoughts on REBOL and .Net integration?

Doing a quick search on this topic (as it's interesting also to me 
for Red), it seems that LOADing a .Net library is at least possible 
from C++: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/757298/loading-managed-c-dll-from-plain-c-program-via-loadlibrary

From REBOL, you could set up a TCP communication channel with a .Net 
app to pass commands and receive data. You can achieve that using 
plain REBOL code or using a messaging library like 0MQ.

Maybe you could just make a simple powershell script for making it 
work as slave for REBOL.

(using a TCP channel)

Using a powershell script definitely works because I have tried it 
- I just used: call "powershell scriptname.ps1" and it worked. But 
of course I need to know 3 languages to do this - REBOl, powershell 
and .Net.

I meant using a powershell script for writing a server that would 
receive commands from a REBOL client through TCP. The REBOL client 
could then hide the powershell commands inside adequate REBOL functions, 
making it feel more natural.

It seems to be possible to write C wrappers for managed code too: 
http://www.dotnetmonster.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/dotnet-interop/5678/Can-Unmanaged-Code-call-LoadLibrary-on-a-managed-DLL

But, as for C++ wrappers, you need to statically make the bindings 
to given managed functions.

Hosting the Common Language Runtime - as per that last article sounds 
interesting - I wonder how large that would be. What about running 
REBOL in the DLR like iron python etc. Is such a thing doable? Or 
is that a blasphemous though to REBOlers?

You would have to rewrite REBOL from scratch to run it in the DLR.

LOL - not much chance of that then!

That's how the Iron* languages did it :)

It will be interesting to see how Doc pulls it off then when he gets 
to that stage in Red (interfacing to .Net I mean). I love REBOL but 
as a netwok admin who lives in a world of Windows being able to interact 
with all things Windows from REBOL would be heaven :))

As someone who uses MS SQL Server a lot, being able to call R3 from 
.NET could lead to stored procedures written in REBOL, maybe :)

In that case, reimplementation starts to look pretty good, or maybe 
even a Red port if it gets PARSE support :)

PARSE support: certainly! Supporting .Net  as a target for Red compilation 
(more accurately: for Red/System compilation) is in the roadmap, 
but not a high-priority though.

(but we're moving out of Rebol Schoold channel topic)

Well guys, I gotta go now, but thanks for all your help and for the 
stimulating discussion!

You're welcome, thanks for bringing that interesting topic. ;-)

IIRC, Max worked on R3 interfacing to .Net for some commercial entity. 
Not sure what' the current state, nor if it is going to be released 
to the public ...

Hi, I am trying to write a Rebol app that download some .png map 
tiles from OpenStreetMap, and display them.  Since Rebol does not 
support multithreading, while downloading every map tile, the user 
will face a non responding screen, which is not very nice. Is there 
a known trick to download in background, or something like that? 
Many thanks..

Awi, maybe this is useful:

http://www.colellachiara.com/soft/Libs/async-http.r

Not sure if this will be usable for you, but I have Red bindings 
to two OSM GTK+ libraries lined up that I will present at the GeoFreedomDay 
meeting December 10

http://www.geofreedomday.nl/2011/Red-System.html

Looks good :-)

There's the minor issue that I still have to make them, so I hope 
it will work :-)

@Awi: http://www.rebol.org/view-script.r?script=threaddemo.r&sid=w2hg