What is the difference between QProcess::start and QProcess::startDetached?

Question

The Qt documentation gives this explanation:

• QProcess::start:

  Starts the given program in a new process, if none is already

Answer 1

The start() function is a member function, while startDetached is a static class function.

If you look at the documentation of QProcess, you'll see that there are functions to allow you to do things with the process such as: -

• Receive the output or error streams from the running process (readAllStandardOutput / readAllStandardError)
• Redirect the output to a file (setStandardOutputFile)
• Use a file for standard input into the process (setStandardInputFile)
• Communicate via channels
• Get notified when the process has finished

These are just some of the things that you can only do with an instance of a QProcess. If, however, you want a simple and quick way of starting a process without having to create an instance and you don't need the extra functionality, you can simply call QProcess::startDetached.

Also, as the docs state for startDetached: -

If the calling process exits, the detached process will continue to live.