In general, API functions and classes enable you to interact with the operating system. Sometimes, however, it is much simpler to execute a system command directly. For this purpose, you can use the standard function system() that takes a const char * argument containing a shell command. For example, on a DOS/Windows system, you can display the files in the current directory like this:

 #include using namespace std;int main(){  system("dir");  //execute the "dir" command}