nelson_p@apollo.uucp (03/19/88)
I just bought a PC and I'm becoming familiar with MSDOS.
I must admit that I haven't decided whether MSDOS is a
real operating system or a toy operating system. Two
questions:
Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo
their contents to the screen? If I precede the other
commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*!
'ECHO OFF' gets echoed!
Why does the PATH command only apply to some kinds of files
and not others? If you're going to have a 'where to look'
feature for the computer why limit the types of files it
applies to?
I understand that these 'features' are *somewhat* corrected in
MSDOS 3.3 (I have 3.2). I actually own a copy of 3.3. Unfortun-
ately 3.3 has a bug (driveparm is not recognized) which results
in 3.5" drives not working correctly. Microsoft claims that they
will offer a fix for this in a month or two. Since my machine has
both a 5.25" and 3.5" drive (plus a hard disk) I'm stuck for now
with MSDOS3.2 .
--Peter Nelsondick@slvblc.UUCP (Dick Flanagan) (03/19/88)
In article <9429@sunybcs.UUCP> ugfailau@sunybcs.uucp (Fai Lau) writes: > In article <3aee6925.44e6@apollo.uucp> nelson_p@apollo.uucp writes: > > > > Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo > > their contents to the screen? If I precede the other > > commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*! > > 'ECHO OFF' gets echoed! > > > Hey, anyone who knows the answer to this gives me a response too, > will ya? Thanx > > > Why does the PATH command only apply to some kinds of files > > and not others? If you're going to have a 'where to look' > > feature for the computer why limit the types of files it > > applies to? > > Hummmm, Dos 3.20 has been good to me in that it does look > through the whold path for a file to be executed. One thing though, > when an executable looks for a "slave" file (like an overlay), > it doesn't even know that the path exists!!! I have seen patches to IBM's PC-DOS 3.2 that solves the first problem by making ECHO OFF the default for batch files (No, I don't have a copy of it, sorry! Check with your neighborhood BBS.). There are also several "dpath" (data path) utilities available from various BBS's that solve the second problem. DOS 3.3 solves *both* problems. Dick -- Dick Flanagan, W6OLD GEnie: FLANAGAN UUCP: ...!ucbvax!ucscc!slvblc!dick Voice: +1 408 336 3481 Internet: slvblc!dick@ucscc.UCSC.EDU LORAN: N037 04.7 W122 04.6 USPO: PO Box 155, Ben Lomond, CA 95005
ugfailau@sunybcs.uucp (Fai Lau) (03/19/88)
In article <3aee6925.44e6@apollo.uucp> nelson_p@apollo.uucp writes: > > Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo > their contents to the screen? If I precede the other > commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*! > 'ECHO OFF' gets echoed! > Hey, anyone who knows the answer to this gives me a response too, will ya? Thanx > Why does the PATH command only apply to some kinds of files > and not others? If you're going to have a 'where to look' > feature for the computer why limit the types of files it > applies to? Hummmm, Dos 3.20 has been good to me in that it does look through the whold path for a file to be executed. One thing though, when an executable looks for a "slave" file (like an overlay), it doesn't even know that the path exists!!! Fai Lau SUNY at Buffalo (The Arctic Wonderland) UUCP: ..{mit-ems|watmath|rocksanne}!sunybcs!ugfailau BI: ugfailau@sunybcs
vu0112@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Cliff Joslyn) (03/19/88)
In article <9429@sunybcs.UUCP> ugfailau@sunybcs.UUCP (Fai Lau) writes: >In article <3aee6925.44e6@apollo.uucp> nelson_p@apollo.uucp writes: >> Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo >> their contents to the screen? If I precede the other >> commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*! >> 'ECHO OFF' gets echoed! >> > Hey, anyone who knows the answer to this gives me a response too, >will ya? Thanx C:> x.bat > nul O----------------------------------------------------------------------> | Cliff Joslyn, Professional Cybernetician | Systems Science Department, SUNY Binghamton, New York, but my opinions | vu0112@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu V All the world is biscuit shaped. . .
amlovell@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Anthony M Lovell) (03/20/88)
In article <9429@sunybcs.UUCP>, ugfailau@sunybcs.uucp (Fai Lau) writes: > In article <3aee6925.44e6@apollo.uucp> nelson_p@apollo.uucp writes: > > > > Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo > > their contents to the screen? If I precede the other > > commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*! > > 'ECHO OFF' gets echoed! > > > Hey, anyone who knows the answer to this gives me a response too, > will ya? Thanx > > Fai Lau Also, is there some way to have DOS buffer more than a single line of the batch file at a time? It goes to the disk for each line of batch commands! One more thing! The status of echo (OFF/ON) changes on me sometimes. Why? I DON'T tell it to. -- amlovell@phoenix.princeton.edu ...since 1963. disclaimer: These are MY opinions. You only WISH they were yours.
madd@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Jim Frost) (03/21/88)
In article <9429@sunybcs.UUCP> ugfailau@sunybcs.UUCP (Fai Lau) writes: >In article <3aee6925.44e6@apollo.uucp> nelson_p@apollo.uucp writes: >> >> Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo >> their contents to the screen? There are patches for every version of MS-DOS that do this; sorry I don't have them online. Check local BBS's -- they're pretty well publicized. All that's required is the changing of an internal flag in COMMAND.COM. Why Microsoft didn't allow the user to set the default state is beyond me, but then again uSoft seems to have a track record of not recognizing the needs of their users for unreasonably long periods of time. >> Why does the PATH command only apply to some kinds of files >> and not others? If you're going to have a 'where to look' >> feature for the computer why limit the types of files it >> applies to? > > Hummmm, Dos 3.20 has been good to me in that it does look >through the whold path for a file to be executed. One thing though, >when an executable looks for a "slave" file (like an overlay), >it doesn't even know that the path exists!!! The PATH command is used to specify a search path of subdirectories for commands, not data. There are a lot of reasons for doing it this way, not the least of them being the segregation of different data file types by directory. It would be messy to have one wordprocessor pull up the .DOC file for another, for example. It's easier to allow the user to specify the path for data files. If you need to access a file without a path when you're in a different directory (some applications don't recognize paths), use the SUBST command, which allows you to substitute a drive name for a path. Read the manual for a more detailed description. As for overlay location, there are a variety of methods used by applications to find files that they require. Under MS-DOS 3.10 or greater, programs can get the path of the executable from the PSP (Program Segment Prefix). This is more or less documented in the Disk Operating System Technical Manual. With earlier versions, searching the path for the needed files can be used. PC-WRITE is one application that appears to use this method. Most commonly programs either require a specific path for their files (root seems to be common, which is annoying) or have an installation program with which you specify the path (Borland's programs often use this method). I've seen several utilities that will give you path-search for data files, but I've found them of limited use. It's annoying to pull up a junk file from another directory when you really wanted to create a new one in the current directory. With extra functionality comes extra problems. jim frost madd@bu-it.bu.edu
cramer@optilink.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) (03/21/88)
Since several people seem to want to know the answers: > In article <3aee6925.44e6@apollo.uucp> nelson_p@apollo.uucp writes: > > > > Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo > > their contents to the screen? If I precede the other > > commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*! > > 'ECHO OFF' gets echoed! > > > Hey, anyone who knows the answer to this gives me a response too, > will ya? Thanx In DOS 3.3, you can preceed any batch file command with an @ sign to disable echo -- so you start out a batch file you want to run silently with @ECHO OFF. > > > Why does the PATH command only apply to some kinds of files > > and not others? If you're going to have a 'where to look' > > feature for the computer why limit the types of files it > > applies to? > > Hummmm, Dos 3.20 has been good to me in that it does look > through the whold path for a file to be executed. One thing though, > when an executable looks for a "slave" file (like an overlay), > it doesn't even know that the path exists!!! > > Fai Lau Smart programs know to you look at Argv[0] to get the starting program's home directory. Stupid programs should be able to work with the APPEND command in DOS 3.3. It is supposed to allow a list of directories to be searched for data files. Clayton E. Cramer
croft@spked.UUCP (Steve Croft) (03/22/88)
In article <3aee6925.44e6@apollo.uucp> nelson_p@apollo.uucp writes: > > Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo > their contents to the screen? If I precede the other > commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*! > 'ECHO OFF' gets echoed! DOS 3.3 not echo commands that are preceded with "@"... hence @echo off will not get echoed. steve ...ucdavis!csusac!athena!crofts
njh@root.co.uk (Nigel Horne) (03/23/88)
Cliff Joslyn writes: >>> Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo >>> their contents to the screen? If I precede the other >>> commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*! >>> 'ECHO OFF' gets echoed! > >C:> x.bat > nul > That doesn't help is the file is \autoexec.bat....... -Nigel -- -- Nigel Horne, Director of Quality and Programmes, UniSoft Ltd. <njh@root.co.uk> G1ITH Fax: (01) 726 2750 Phone: +44 1 606 7799 Telex: 885995 UNISFT G BT Gold: CQQ173
palmer@oodis01.ARPA (Jim Palmer) (03/23/88)
In article <9429@sunybcs.UUCP> ugfailau@sunybcs.UUCP (Fai Lau) writes: > Hummmm, Dos 3.20 has been good to me in that it does look >through the whole path for a file to be executed. One thing though, >when an executable looks for a "slave" file (like an overlay), >it doesn't even know that the path exists!!! MS-DOS (Don't know about PC-DOS) 3.2 added an external command APPEND.COM which works just like PATH only it's the 'path' which is searched for overlay files. Works great. Finally I can use Wordstar from every directory on my harddisk! Try it, you'll like it. (I promise not to say RTFM 8^) oops . . Flames regarding {Ne,Wo}rdStar may be directed to /dev/null -- Jim Palmer - Manufacturers And Gov't Interconnected by Computers (It's MAGIC!) I'm in the High Fidelity /###\ ARPA: palmer@oodis01.arpa First Class Travelin' Section @ o o @ UUCP: ihnp4!lll-tis!oodis01!palmer I think I need a Lear Jet. \ L / SNAIL: OO-ALC/PMXD Hill AFB, UT 84056
murillo@sigi.Colorado.EDU (Rodrigo Murillo) (03/27/88)
In article <556@root44.co.uk> njh@root.co.uk (Nigel Horne) writes: >Cliff Joslyn writes: >>>> Is there any way to create batch files that don't echo >>>> their contents to the screen? If I precede the other >>>> commands in the .BAT file with 'ECHO OFF' then the @#&%*! >>>> 'ECHO OFF' gets echoed! >>C:> x.bat > nul >That doesn't help is the file is \autoexec.bat....... Doesn't anybody try solutions before posting them? The above solution won't help any batch file run 'quiet'. It simply does not work. May I humbly suggest that you verify that posted solutions work before posting them. Its like posting crapped out code to binaries. You waste your time, my time, and the nets time (and money) The recently posted solution for getting the current directory in to a envar does not work either. (see followup) -- _______________________________________________________________________________ Rodrigo Murillo, University of Colorado - Boulder (303) 761-0410 murillo@boulder.colorado.edu | ..{hao|nbires}!boulder!murillo ( Machines have less problems. I'd like to be a machine. -- Andy Warhol )