Get Results from XP_CMDSHELL

Question

I have been searching the web some and it seems like the only way to get the results from XP_CMDSHELL is to store them into a temp table. Is there really no easier way?

From Experts Exchange:

No, xp_cmdshell will not return any information from the exe. and you have to use the following syntax if you are not in the master database to run it. master..xp_cmdshell. You will have to give your user permission to execute this procedure in the master database. You will have to have your exe insert the information its self because it can not return information to the process that called it.

And...

While @result only gets the return value from xp_cmdshell, you may be able to capture the results of the command by inserting directly into a table... something like this:

ymmv...

set nocount on
declare  @filepath   varchar(255),
         @cmd        varchar(255),
         @rc         int

select   @filepath = 'c:\temp\'         
select   @cmd      = 'dir ' + @filepath + '~*.tmp'

create table #output (output varchar(255) null)
insert #output exec @rc = master..xp_cmdshell @cmd
select * from #output where output is not null
drop table #output

Answer 1

There is no easier way to capture STDOUT/STDERR feedback from xp_cmdshell; there is at least one alternative but it couldn't be classed as easier:
It would be possible to redirect the output of the command to a text file as part of the command, then read the text file using OPENROWSET.

BTW there is at least one error in the script posted above. The docs for xp_cmdshell state that it returns command output as nvarchar(255).
Also, the temp table ought to have an identity column, otherwise the results may not be displayed in the correct order:

...
create table #output (id int identity(1,1), output nvarchar(255) null)
insert #output (output) exec @rc = master..xp_cmdshell @cmd
select * from #output where output is not null order by id
drop table #output