implement a shell in c

[confuse]

im writing a small shell in c that implments some basic shell functions. I need to be able to redirct output
ex. ls -al > output.dat

i was thinking i need to use the exec() function, which I have working where there is no redirection, but how do I get it to output that data to the new file

do i need to fork a new process to do this, and do I need to create the file first, or does the exec() function do that

little confused, and pointers would be great

[Cabhan]

This sounds a lot like a homework question, so I'm going to close this thread. Homework questions are not allowed on this forum.

I will, however, give you two pointers:

1) Go ahead and read this article for an overview of forking and execing:
Fork, Exec and Process control

2) Read these:
Standard streams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redirection_(computing)

I/O redirection is set up by setting up the stdin, stdout, and stderr of a process before it is exec()'d (exec preserves stdin, stdout, and stderr). Hopefully this will point you in the correct direction.