Hello ! > im trying to create a simple application that does the following: > > 1. get a list of files(media files) in a certain directory > 2. for every file: > a. get the filetype > b. choose the appropriate converter (f.i. ffmpeg, swf2flv) > c. convert the file > d. continue > 3. write process output to logfile In that case, the `command` syntax is perfectly adapted. (or system, for the conversion). In case you need to check the return value of the `commands`, use $? . If you need to work with bigger output, where it would not be suitable to store it all in a Ruby variable, give a look at IO.popen Cheers ! Vince