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doc: update "Spawning .bat and .cmd files on Windows" section #58739

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doc: update "Spawning .bat and .cmd files on Windows" section #58739

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17 changes: 5 additions & 12 deletions doc/api/child_process.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -118,16 +118,13 @@ operating systems (Unix, Linux, macOS) [`child_process.execFile()`][] can be
more efficient because it does not spawn a shell by default. On Windows,
however, `.bat` and `.cmd` files are not executable on their own without a
terminal, and therefore cannot be launched using [`child_process.execFile()`][].
When running on Windows, `.bat` and `.cmd` files can be invoked using
[`child_process.spawn()`][] with the `shell` option set, with
[`child_process.exec()`][], or by spawning `cmd.exe` and passing the `.bat` or
`.cmd` file as an argument (which is what the `shell` option and
[`child_process.exec()`][] do). In any case, if the script filename contains
spaces it needs to be quoted.
When running on Windows, `.bat` and `.cmd` files should only be invoked using
[`child_process.exec()`][] and if the script filename contains spaces it needs
to be quoted.

```cjs
// OR...
const { exec, spawn } = require('node:child_process');
const { exec } = require('node:child_process');

exec('my.bat', (err, stdout, stderr) => {
if (err) {
Expand All @@ -138,16 +135,14 @@ exec('my.bat', (err, stdout, stderr) => {
});

// Script with spaces in the filename:
const bat = spawn('"my script.cmd" a b', { shell: true });
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this doesn't use args array, so this doesn't fall into the DEP0190 case

// or:
exec('"my script.cmd" a b', (err, stdout, stderr) => {
// ...
});
```

```mjs
// OR...
import { exec, spawn } from 'node:child_process';
import { exec } from 'node:child_process';

exec('my.bat', (err, stdout, stderr) => {
if (err) {
Expand All @@ -158,8 +153,6 @@ exec('my.bat', (err, stdout, stderr) => {
});

// Script with spaces in the filename:
const bat = spawn('"my script.cmd" a b', { shell: true });
// or:
exec('"my script.cmd" a b', (err, stdout, stderr) => {
// ...
});
Expand Down