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?

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