m-liu@flims (Micky Liu) (03/17/87)
I am trying to use a batch file to:
1) save the current directory
2) goto another directory
3) execute some program
4) return to saved directory
I'm having a great deal of trouble trying to get PC-DOS 3.1 to do this. In
Unix it would look like:
OLDDIR=`pwd`
cd \anywhere\i\have\to\go
program-that-i-want-to-execute
cd $OLDDIR
Anybody out there have any idea how I can do this? Step one is the problem
here. In the manual it says that DOS remembers the original directory, but
it doesn't return to the original directory at the end of the batch file. I
tried to write a program to put something in the environment, but that is no
good since when the program terminates the newly modified environment goes
with it...
Thanking you all in advance!!!
Micky Liu
ARPA: x1.micky@cu20b.columbia.edu
UUCP: ...seismo!columbia!cu20b.columbia.edu!x1.micky
...seismo!columbia!flims!m-liu
BITNET: malua@cuvmcmadd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Jim "Jack" Frost) (03/18/87)
In article <4471@columbia.UUCP> x1.micky@cu20b.columbia.edu (Micky Liu) writes: >I am trying to use a batch file to: > >1) save the current directory >2) goto another directory >3) execute some program >4) return to saved directory > >I'm having a great deal of trouble trying to get PC-DOS 3.1 to do this. [...] >Anybody out there have any idea how I can do this? Step one is the problem >here. In the manual it says that DOS remembers the original directory, but >it doesn't return to the original directory at the end of the batch file. I >tried to write a program to put something in the environment, but that is no >good since when the program terminates the newly modified environment goes >with it... There's really no easy way to do this (ie, DOS gives no function that can do it). What you need to do is either get hold of some program that inplements directory stacks (there's a pd program pair pushdir and popdir that would work) or to write a program to save the old directory into a file (or write a simple shell program, which is more involved). If you can get hold of pushdir/popdir, you can do the following batch file: rem save the old dir and switch to the new dir pushdir \newdir\that\you\want rem run program program rem return to old directory popdir You can write a real simple pushdir/popdir pair yourself by saving the current directory in a file and having popdir retrieve it. The programs are simple enough to write that I leave it as an exercise to the reader. Besides, I have no idea what kind of languages you use. The fastest method (execution wise) is to create a shell program that gets the current directory, saves it in a string, does a chdir to the new directory, exec's the program you want to run, then does a chdir back when the program gives control back. This takes memory, however (although only a few bytes if you write it in assembler). If you want pushdir/popdir, you should first try asking friends. A surprising number of people have these. If nobody does, then look around the larger bbs's. They probably will (I've seen it on several -- one of them is a bbs sponsored by Systems House in Laconia NH, phone (603) 524-1000, which just happens to be the only one that I know the number of off the top of my head). These programs are real short, so they don't take too much time to download. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% - Jim Frost * The Madd Hacker - UUCP: ..!harvard!bu-cs!bucsb!madd | ARPANET: madd@bucsb.bu.edu CSNET: madd%bucsb@bu-cs | BITNET: cscc71c@bostonu -----------------------------------+-----+------------------------------ "New minds, fresh ideas -- be tolerant." | _@o. <- Mick the Micro Mouse
keast@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Kenneth East) (03/18/87)
In article <838@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP> madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Jim "Jack" Frost) writes: >In article <4471@columbia.UUCP> x1.micky@cu20b.columbia.edu (Micky Liu) writes: >>I am trying to use a batch file to: >> >>1) save the current directory >>2) goto another directory >>3) execute some program >>4) return to saved directory [...] >>Anybody out there have any idea how I can do this? Step one is the problem [...] > >There's really no easy way to do this (ie, DOS gives no function that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Actually there is a very simple way to do it with I/O re-direction: 1) Create a file called cd.txt which contains ONLY the two letters 'cd' followed by a space followed by a ^Z (end of file). Let's say that we have created such a file and placed it in the directory \batch. 2) You will have to place the following in a batch file which in turn will execute your program(s). For example: REM place a 'cd ' in the file old_dir.bat copy \batch\cd.txt \batch\old_dir.bat REM append the current directory path to the same file cd >> \batch\old_dir.bat REM now you can change directories at will and execute programs, etc. cd \progs\etc foo.exe REM to return to the original directory, just execute the batch file REM you created above: \batch\old_dir.bat REM and you are back at the original directory. Please, no flames. I know it's inelegant, but it works fine, and I have better things to do than writing a "real" program to do this. -- ======================================+================================= UUCP: ..!harvard!bu-cs!bucsf!keast | ARPANET: keast@bucsf.bu.edu CSNET: keast%bucsf@bu-cs | Kenneth East @ Boston University ======================================+=================================
bobmon@iuvax.UUCP (Che Flamingo) (03/18/87)
x1.micky@cu20b.columbia.edu (Micky Liu) writes: > >I am trying to use a batch file to: > >1) save the current directory >2) goto another directory >3) execute some program >4) return to saved directory I got a couple of dandy programs off the net, called "pushd.exe" and "popd.exe", that do exactly this by "pushing" to some directory (saving the current dir in an environment variable), then "popping" back to the original. Um...actually, it's not perfect. It doesn't work in secondary copies of COMMAND.COM -- can't find the current environment to store in/read from, I think. Overall, though, I'm quite pleased with it.
perkins@bnrmtv.UUCP (Henry Perkins) (03/18/87)
> I am trying to use a batch file to: > > 1) save the current directory > 2) goto another directory > 3) execute some program > 4) return to saved directory > > Micky Liu ...seismo!columbia!flims!m-liu Create a file called CDSTRING on a path I'll represent as diskname:\cdstringpath\CDSTRING which contains only this text, not including the quotes: "CD " Then your batch can look like the following: COPY diskname:\cdstringpath\CDSTRING diskname:\popdirpath\POPDIR.BAT CD >> diskname:\POPDIR.BAT CD diskname:\whatever\path\you\need progname diskname:\popdirpath\POPDIR On DOS versions before 3.0, you'd need to have diskname:\popdirpath in your search path, and remove it from in front of the POPDIR in the last line. -- {hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!perkins --Henry Perkins It is better never to have been born. But who among us has such luck? One in a million, perhaps.
scott@ubvax.UUCP (Scott Scheiman) (03/18/87)
In article <4471@columbia.UUCP>, m-liu@flims (Micky Liu) writes: > > I am trying to use a batch file to: > > 1) save the current directory > 2) goto another directory > 3) execute some program > 4) return to saved directory This may be a little kludgey for you, but I've been able to do this using just batch files (hack, hack!). Here's my PUSHD.BAT: echo off copy c:\bat\pushd.dat d:\~push.bat >nul: cd >>d:\~push.bat echo set ~PUSH=%%PUSH%% %%~PUSH%%>>d:\~push.bat echo set PUSH=>>d:\~push.bat if not "%1"=="" echo %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 >>d:\~push.bat d:\~push where the file pushd.dat contains: echo off set PUSH= What all this does is create a temporary batch file ~push.bat in a work directory (here it's d:) which places your current directory name into the environment string PUSH, then moves it to the front of a string of saved directories in the environment string ~PUSH (and removes PUSH). If pushd was called with arguments, they are placed in ~push.bat to be executed. Finally, pushd.bat chains to the newly-created ~push.bat. What this relies on is (1) batch-file chaining and (2) the %-notation substitution into batch files from the environment which was much discussed on the net a few weeks ago. In order to do the four steps you wanted, chaining is necessary: your original command (presumably a batch file) chains to pushd.bat, then ~push.bat, which then runs another batch file (unless you modify my stuff to do it) to change the directory, run your command, and finally chain to popd.bat. Regarding the % substitutions, note that the %'s are doubled to defer the substitution until ~push.bat runs. In order for this to work, pushd.dat must NOT end in CR-LF. I don't know of any editors which allow this fully, so I've used the Norton Utility (or DEBUG) to change the CR-LF to blanks. For completeness, here's my popd.bat. I'll leave it's analysis as an exercise for you readers: echo off if exist d:\~push.bat erase d:\~push.bat if "%1"=="" c:\bat\~popd %~PUSH% chdir %~PUSH% if "%1"=="/" set ~PUSH= if "%1"=="/" shift if "%1"=="." shift ; %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 where ~popd.bat is: echo off if "%1"=="" goto finis chdir %1 :finis set ~PUSH= if not "%2"=="" set ~PUSH=%2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 -- "Ribbit!" Scott (Beam Me Up, Scotty!) Scheiman Industrial Networking Inc. `/\/@\/@\/\ ..decvax!amd!ubvax!scott 3990 Freedom Circle _\ \ - / /_ (408) 562-5572 Santa Clara, CA 95050
chassin@rpics.RPI.EDU (Dave Chassin) (03/19/87)
In article <839@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP>, keast@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Kenneth East) writes: > >>I am trying to use a batch file to: > >> > >>1) save the current directory > >>2) goto another directory > >>3) execute some program > >>4) return to saved directory [...] > > REM place a 'cd ' in the file old_dir.bat > copy \batch\cd.txt \batch\old_dir.bat > REM append the current directory path to the same file > cd >> \batch\old_dir.bat > REM now you can change directories at will and execute programs, etc. > cd \progs\etc > foo.exe > REM to return to the original directory, just execute the batch file > REM you created above: > \batch\old_dir.bat > REM and you are back at the original directory. > Yes this will work fine AS LONG AS you execute \batch\old_dir.bat last or as 'command /c \batch\old_dir.bat'... batch files exit otherwise and and following statements are skipped. Dave _____________________ David P. Chassin Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | School of Architecture __+__ Troy, NY 12181 / _ \ USA | | | | /=======/ = \=======\ (518) 266-6461 | _ | _ | _ | | | | | | | | | | | chassin@csv.rpi.edu | = | | | | = | =======================================================================
phil@sci.UUCP (03/19/87)
In article <839@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP>, keast@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Kenneth East) writes: > >>I am trying to use a batch file to: > >> > >>1) save the current directory > >>2) goto another directory > >>3) execute some program > >>4) return to saved directory > [...] > >>Anybody out there have any idea how I can do this? Step one is the problem > Actually there is a very simple way to do it with I/O re-direction: > > 1) Create a file called cd.txt which contains ONLY the two letters > 'cd' followed by a space followed by a ^Z (end of file). Let's say > that we have created such a file and placed it in the > directory \batch. > > 2) You will have to place the following in a batch file which > in turn will execute your program(s). For example: > > REM place a 'cd ' in the file old_dir.bat > copy \batch\cd.txt \batch\old_dir.bat > REM append the current directory path to the same file > cd >> \batch\old_dir.bat > REM now you can change directories at will and execute programs, etc. > cd \progs\etc > foo.exe > REM to return to the original directory, just execute the batch file > REM you created above: > \batch\old_dir.bat > REM and you are back at the original directory. > > Please, no flames. I know it's inelegant, but it works fine, and I have > better things to do than writing a "real" program to do this. -- > ======================================+================================= The above approach works great but is not quite general enough. It does not handle the case where the target directory is on a different drive than the original drive. the simple fix is to add a couple more commands: after the first cd >> ... line that puts the old directory on the file add cd \ to get to the current drives root dir cd >> ... to put the drive name on the file Now when the return file is executed you will not only cd to the right directory but also change drive default back if it has been changed the rest of this text is because of the fact that my stupid mailer requires that there be more new text than included text how is that for fine programming? alas, how often does one get to have a program that enforces efficiency by insisting on more text than you need. anyone have a pointer to the great programmer in the sky who did us this favor?
li@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (03/20/87)
In article <3381@iuvax.UUCP> bobmon@iuvax.UUCP (Che Flamingo) writes: >x1.micky@cu20b.columbia.edu (Micky Liu) writes: >> >>I am trying to use a batch file to: >> >>1) save the current directory >>2) goto another directory >>3) execute some program >>4) return to saved directory There is a simple way to do something similar to this, although it really isn't a solution, just a patch, but it doesn't take too much effort, and may be adequate for what you want. Use the SUBST command to assign a logical drive, say x:(assuming you have included a line "lastdrive=z" in your config.sys) to the other directory you want(or just the same drive and feed it the path). Then change drives(just "x:"). DOS remembers the current directory in each drive, so when you come back c:(assuming you just work off c:, otherwise, this won't work), you will still be in the old directory. I have used the same trick to do a whereis on just a subdirectory tree. The public domain version of whereis we have searches the entire disk(if there is another version that accepts a path, I'd like to hear about it.) The batch file looked something like the following: if "%2" == "" goto usage subst x: %2 x: whereis %1 c: subst x: /d goto end :usage echo Usage: whis file path :end li@tybalt.caltech.edu (James Li) __ __ (also li@citromeo.caltech.bitnet) | | "Official KANK symbol" ------> | |