awesome-reviewers/_reviewers/azure-sdk-for-net-handle-external-process-errors.md

title, description, repository, label, language, comments_count, repository_stars

title	description	repository	label	language	comments_count	repository_stars
Handle external process errors	When calling external processes (like dotnet, msbuild, etc.), always implement proper error handling and output management: 1. Check exit codes to detect failures and propagate errors	Azure/azure-sdk-for-net	Error Handling	Other	2	5809

When calling external processes (like dotnet, msbuild, etc.), always implement proper error handling and output management:

1. Check exit codes to detect failures and propagate errors
2. Display command output to users for visibility
3. Prevent command output from polluting the PowerShell pipeline
4. Ensure proper cleanup of resources even when errors occur

# Bad practice - no error handling, output pollutes pipeline
dotnet msbuild $ServiceProj /p:ServiceDirectory=$serviceDirectory

# Good practice - handles errors, displays output, doesn't pollute pipeline
$outputFilePath = Join-Path ([System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath()) "temp-$([System.Guid]::NewGuid()).txt"
try {
    # Display output but don't pollute pipeline
    dotnet msbuild $ServiceProj /p:ServiceDirectory=$serviceDirectory | Out-Host
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        throw "MSBuild failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE"
    }
    # Process results...
}
finally {
    # Clean up resources even if an error occurred
    if (Test-Path $outputFilePath) {
        Remove-Item -Path $outputFilePath -Force | Out-Host
    }
}

This approach ensures scripts fail fast when external processes fail, preserves error visibility, maintains clean function return values, and properly manages resources.