Execute cl command with Java Runtime from anywhere

I am trying to call/execute a C++ compiler command with the Java Runtime.

Runtime runtime = Runtime.getRuntime();
String[] command = { "cl", "/P", "/EP", "/C", "-D", "LOC" + loc_file, file};
Process process = runtime.exec(command);
process.waitFor();

However I always get following error message:

"Cannot run program "cl.exe" CreateProcess error=2, The system cannot find the file specified."

So obviously it doesn't find the cl program. However, I don't really know how to configure the Java Runtime, in order to find the cl program. Is there a way to set some sort of PATH variable for it to find the cl program?

If I want to call the cl program in cmd, I first have to run vcvars32.bat which is located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\BuildTools\VC\Auxiliary\Build. Then I can use the cl program as I wish. However I have no clue, how I can accomplish this through Java Code.

In your situation, I think there are two solutions to your issue:

1 Change the PATH on your system and launch the program in this updated environment

This what you did already judging by your comment under the question.

You can manually add the program you want to launch in the "PATH" of your system by adjusting the environment variables and then launching your java program anew with the updated environment.

2 Within Eclipse, modify the PATH environment variable for your program only

Since you mentioned you are using Eclipse, there is an alternative to modifying the PATH in the operating system configuration.

In the Run Configurations of Eclipse, there is an Environment tab in which you can define new environment variables or modify existing ones for your specific program. You can make the modification to the PATH here with something like this: