9.252 SYSTEM — Execute a shell command

Description:

Passes the command COMMAND to a shell (see system(3)). If argument STATUS is present, it contains the value returned by system(3), which is presumably 0 if the shell command succeeded. Note that which shell is used to invoke the command is system-dependent and environment-dependent.

This intrinsic is provided in both subroutine and function forms; however, only one form can be used in any given program unit.

Note that the system function need not be thread-safe. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that system is not called concurrently.

Standard:

GNU extension

Class:

Subroutine, function

Syntax:

CALL SYSTEM(COMMAND [, STATUS])

STATUS = SYSTEM(COMMAND)

Arguments:

COMMAND	Shall be of default CHARACTER type.
STATUS	(Optional) Shall be of default INTEGER type.

See also:

EXECUTE_COMMAND_LINE, which is part of the Fortran 2008 standard and should considered in new code for future portability.