All Questions(server)

I want to run a bash subshell, (1) run a few commands, (2) and then remain in that subshell to do as I please. I can do each of these individually:

1. Run command using -c flag:

   $> bash -c "ls; pwd; <other commands...>"
   

   however, it immediately returns to the "super" shell after the commands are executed. I can also just run an interactive subshell:

2. Start new bash process:

   $> bash
   

   and it won't exit the subshell until I say so explicitly... but I can't run any initial commands. The closest solution I've found is:

   $> bash -c "ls; pwd; <other commands>; exec bash"
   

   which works, but not the way I wanted to, as it runs the given commands in one subshell, and then opens a separate one for interaction.

I want to do this on a single line. Once I exit the subshell, I should return back to the regular "super"shell without incident. There must be a way~~

NB: What I am not asking...

1. not asking where to get a hold of the bash man page
2. not asking how to read initializing commands from a file... I know how to do this, it's not the solution I'm looking for
3. not interested in using tmux or gnu screen
4. not interested in giving context to this. I.e., the question is meant to be general, and not for any specific purpose
5. if possible, I want to avoid using workarounds that sort of accomplish what I want, but in a "dirty" way. I just want to do this on a single line. In particular, I don't want to do something like xterm -e 'ls'

I'm working with Apache2 and Passenger for a Rails project. I would like to create a self-signed SSL Certificate for testing purposes.

sudo openssl rsa -des3 -in server.key -out server.key.new

When i enter the above command, it says

writing RSA key
Enter PEM pass phrase:

If i do not enter the pass phrse, im getting the below error

unable to write key
3079317228:error:28069065:lib(40):UI_set_result:result too small:ui_lib.c:869:Yo
u must type in 4 to 1024 characters
3079317228:error:0906406D:PEM routines:PEM_def_callback:problems getting passwor
d:pem_lib.c:111:
3079317228:error:0906906F:PEM routines:PEM_ASN1_write_bio:read key:pem_lib.c:382

Is it possible to generate a RSA key without giving pass phrase, since I am not sure how the /etc/init.d/httpd script will start the HTTP server without human intervention (i.e. If I give a 4 character pass phrase, it expects me to provide this while starting the Apache HTTP server).

I have a Windows Service that makes use of a SQL Server database. I don't have control over the installation of the service, but would like to add a dependency on the service to ensure that it starts after SQL server has started. (SQL server is running on the same machine as the service in question)

Is there a tool to add a dependency or possibly editing the registry directly?

Are there any filename or path length limits on Linux?

I have a scheduled task that starts a batch script that runs robocopy every hour. Every time it runs a window pops up on the desktop with robocopy's output, which I don't really want to see.

I managed to make the window appear minimized by making the scheduled job run

cmd /c start /min mybat.bat

but that gives me a new command window every hour. I was surprised by this, given cmd /c "Carries out the command specified by string and then terminates" - I must have misunderstood the docs.

Is there a way to run a batch script without it popping up a cmd window?