Execute external program in ruby and wait for its execution

Question

How do I start an external program (like an excel sheet) from ruby and wait for its execution resp. termination before continuing.

I know I can start the excel sheet wit

Answer 1

Do not use start! The command system will wait for the result. In Windows prompt the start command starts programs asynchronously.

system 'excel yout/path/sheet'

Or you can use %x too, if you want an array as result :

%x{ ls }

If you have the start command in your command, %x will wait for the output anyway..