How to run the command 'pdflatex' in Java on Mac

Question

I've tried searching for the answer but none are working for me.

I'm trying to run pdflatex in terminal from my java application on my Mac.

In Terminal if i type:

open -a FireFox http://www.yahoo.co.uk

it opens yahoo.co.uk in my FireFox browser

or

pdflatex x.tex

it processes the file

In my Java code I type:

open -a FireFox http://www.yahoo.co.uk'

it opens yahoo.co.uk in my FireFox browser

or

pdflatex x.tex

I get an error.

Here's the Code:

public static void main(String args[]) {

    String s = null;

    try {

        Process p = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("pdflatex x.tex");

         BufferedReader stdInput = new BufferedReader(new
         InputStreamReader(p.getInputStream()));

         BufferedReader stdError = new BufferedReader(new
         InputStreamReader(p.getErrorStream()));

         // read the output from the command
         System.out.println("Here is the standard output of the command:\n");
         while ((s = stdInput.readLine()) != null) {
         System.out.println(s);
         }

         // read any errors from the attempted command
         System.out.println("Here is the standard error of the command (if any):\n");
         while ((s = stdError.readLine()) != null) {
         System.out.println(s);
         }

         System.exit(0);
    } catch (Exception e) {
        System.out.println("exception happened - here's what I know: ");
        e.printStackTrace();
        System.exit(-1);
    }
}

Here's the error:

exception happened - here's what I know:
java.io.IOException: Cannot run program "pdflatex": error=2, No such file or directory at
java.lang.ProcessBuilder.start(ProcessBuilder.java:460) at
java.lang.Runtime.exec(Runtime.java:593) at
java.lang.Runtime.exec(Runtime.java:431) at
java.lang.Runtime.exec(Runtime.java:328) at
test.JavaRunCommand.main(JavaRunCommand.java:28)
Caused by: java.io.IOException: error=2, No such file or directory at
java.lang.UNIXProcess.forkAndExec(Native Method) at
java.lang.UNIXProcess.(UNIXProcess.java:53) at
java.lang.ProcessImpl.start(ProcessImpl.java:91) at
java.lang.ProcessBuilder.start(ProcessBuilder.java:453) ... 4 more

I have tried JProc as it was a solution from another post, but it still has a similar error:

Exception in thread "main" org.buildobjects.process.StartupException:
Could not startup process 'pdflatex x.tex '.
at org.buildobjects.process.Proc.(Proc.java:46) at
org.buildobjects.process.ProcBuilder.run(ProcBuilder.java:111) at
test.JavaRunCommand.main(JavaRunCommand.java:20)
Caused by: java.io.IOException:
Cannot run program "pdflatex x.tex": error=2, No such file or directory at
java.lang.ProcessBuilder.start(ProcessBuilder.java:460) at
java.lang.Runtime.exec(Runtime.java:593) at
org.buildobjects.process.Proc.(Proc.java:43) ... 2 more
Caused by: java.io.IOException: error=2, No such file or directory at
java.lang.UNIXProcess.forkAndExec(Native Method) at
java.lang.UNIXProcess.(UNIXProcess.java:53) at
java.lang.ProcessImpl.start(ProcessImpl.java:91) at
java.lang.ProcessBuilder.start(ProcessBuilder.java:453) ... 4 more

Try printing which pdflatex in command line, then replacing pdflatex in the Java code with its full name. — alf
Thanks @alf! It worked! but now I want to open the pdf file generated. How do I call pdflatex AND open the resulting pdf file in one go? — Devan Somaia
I have done it - I wrote a batch file and executed that. Thanks for your help! :) — Devan Somaia

Devan Somaia Devan Somaia · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-01T16:17:07

thanks to @alf :

printing which pdflatex and using the resulting full path works perfectly.

How to run the command 'pdflatex' in Java on Mac

1 Answers