c++ system() on linux?

[SilicateWielder]

Hi, so I'm primarily a javascript dev however I do know some C++ and I'm trying to write a launcher for a game I'm developing

 

 

I understand that on windows using system() is bad practice for security reasons, however i'm developing for linux and I'm seeing a lot of people recommending system and popen for this OS.

Are there any reasons I shouldn't be using these two commands?

[trag1c]

Same reason as windows System() executes another executable which can be replaced by anyone. It's also fairly heavy on resources.

 

Consider CreateProcess() on windows and fork() and exec() on linux for starting applications. Since these create new processes they're independent from the master process and are subject to their own privileges.

 

E.g. main process is administrator access the secondary is only user access if configured that way. System would make both processes with admin rights which is extremely bad if another program hijacked the executable of the second process.

[SilicateWielder]

11 minutes ago, trag1c said:

Same reason as windows System() executes another executable which can be replaced by anyone. It's also fairly heavy on resources.

 

Consider CreateProcess() on windows and fork() and exec() on linux for starting applications. Since these create new processes they're independent from the master process and are subject to their own privileges.

 

E.g. main process is administrator access the secondary is only user access if configured that way. System would make both processes with admin rights which is extremely bad if another program hijacked the executable of the second process.

Thanks for the response! This was very helpful