execute an exe file

Hi every one
i have 2 questions :
1. can i run an exe file on the server(suppose my server is windows)
like this:

<?php
execute("/myPrograms/file.exe",$output)
// do somthing with output
?>

2.if yes, plz mention appropriate functions.
just notify my file.exe has output and i want to get it.
thank you in addvence

 

You can use PHP's system() and exec() functions for this purpose.

 

thank you for your reply.