linco@eng.umd.edu (Sam Lin) (12/23/89)
I have been experimenting with trying to make DOS 3.1 more UN*X-like, because
it is a real pain switching between UN*X and DOS between my Sun and my PC.
Recently, I got a hold of PICNIX3 from grape.ecs.clarkson.edu, and playing
with the SWITCHAR command has yielded some interesting discoveries.
When I use "SWITCHAR -" change the DOS switch character to '-', as one would
expect, the command
dir /w
becomes
dir -w.
However, I discovered that the path separator also gets transformed from the
brain-damaged '\' to the UN*X '/'!!
Thus, if there is a directory called c:\tmp, typing
dir c:/tmp
works just as well as
dir c:\tmp.
Even more interesting, '/' now must be used as the path separator in the
invokation of programs. '\' no longer works! Thus to invoke the
program \util\emacs.exe, I have to type:
/util/emacs.
Typing
\util\emacs
results in "EXEC failure." Usually use the "prompt [$p]" command to make
my DOS prompt display the current directory. Strangely, even though DOS
now recognizes '/' as the path separator, it still uses the '\' in
displaying the prompt. For instance, if I am in the directory
\kermit on drive c, I get the prompt:
[C:\KERMIT]
However, if I invoke a new copy of COMMAND.COM by typing
/command
my prompt looks like this:
[C:/KERMIT]
But if I cd into a sub-subdirectory by typing, say
cd /wp/word
my prompt looks like:
[C:/wp\word]
Anyway, here are my questions:
1. Why does DOS get confused, and mix the '/' and '\' path separators?
Does anybody know of any patches to COMMAND.COM which can correct this?
2. Is there any way to make the DOS prompt display the '/' path separator
without starting a new copy of COMMAND.COM?
3. Does COMMAND.COM have any undocumented command-line switches that
control this UN*X-like behavior?
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Sam C. Lin | ///
Internet: linco@eng.umd.edu | ///
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------rickc@agora.UUCP (Rick Coates) (12/23/89)
In article <1989Dec23.024131.6399@eng.umd.edu> linco@eng.umd.edu (Sam Lin) writes: >I have been experimenting with trying to make DOS 3.1 more UN*X-like, because >it is a real pain switching between UN*X and DOS between my Sun and my PC. >Recently, I got a hold of PICNIX3 from grape.ecs.clarkson.edu, and playing >with the SWITCHAR command has yielded some interesting discoveries. > ... I have no answers for MSDOS's behavior (I'm glad I'm not responsible for THAT code!), but can give you some more problems with using the switchar bit. A number of applications simply will not run with the switchar set to '-' (Norton utilities and SuperCalc, to name two). This is highly annoying. Also, if you use 'system()' call in Microsoft C, the spawned job dies with an 'Invalid path specification' message. Due to this (and the already mentioned problems) I have pulled switchar - off my DOS system. Sigh. Maybe 1990 will be the year I can get Unix running at home! PS - sorry to all about the post about SIMTEL20 - I now see they have a UUCP mail server - thanks, Keith!! Rick Coates Consulting H/W - S/W engineer (Graphics - Sun - Unix - ASIC design - imbedded systems) ...!tektronix!tessi!agora!rickc
ee5391aa@hydra.unm.edu (Duke McMullan n5gax) (12/25/89)
In article <1989Dec23.024131.6399@eng.umd.edu> linco@eng.umd.edu (Sam Lin) writes: >I have been experimenting with trying to make DOS 3.1 more UN*X-like, because >it is a real pain switching between UN*X and DOS between my Sun and my PC. >Recently, I got a hold of PICNIX3 from grape.ecs.clarkson.edu, and playing >with the SWITCHAR command has yielded some interesting discoveries. (balance deleted for brevity of length of this very message, and to eliminate duplication and redundancy.... Look up a critter called 4dos. I got mine off of 128.252.135.4 (D.B.A. wuarchive.wustl.edu) which seems to have just about all the messdos stuff carried by SIMTEL20 and, at least from this site, is a good bit faster over internet. Check the /mirrors/msdos directory, and glance at /usenet/comp. binaries.ibm.pc. 4dos is a replacement for command.com which: Ahem. Supports aliases, history, UN?X expansion of '*', improved editing of command lines, a variety of new "internal" commands, and a variety of improvements on the regular commands. I can't speak from experience yet; this acct. is going away in a few more days, and I'm busy pumping loads of PD software and sharware over this system while I still can. 2400 bps is slower than internet at its worst. After that's over, I'll reconfigure with 4dos & see if I like it. Then, I'll probably "byte" the bullet, and send in the shareware registration fee. Yeah, that's right, actually SEND IN a registration fee. Considering what's going on in Eastern Europe, I don't think too many people will notice. d "You should never threaten a man you are not going to fight, and if war is your intention, it is best to get on with it." -- F.J. Lovret Duke McMullan n5gax nss13429r phon505-255-4642 ee5391aa@hydra.unm.edu
davidsen@sixhub.UUCP (Wm E. Davidsen Jr) (12/26/89)
In article <1989Dec23.024131.6399@eng.umd.edu> linco@eng.umd.edu (Sam Lin) writes: | However, I discovered that the path separator also gets transformed from the | brain-damaged '\' to the UN*X '/'!! Well, not really. If you look at the DOS manual, you will see that the pathname separator is allowed to be / or \, and has been since DOS 2.0! The whole non-sense about the switch character is in COMMAND.COM and other applications. When COMMAND.COM stops looking for the / as an "option inducer" the / goes through and is (as always) treated as a path level separator. This is why you can use / in the #include (unless the compiler deliberately breaks them). Someone decided to go with the DEC / options instead of the - UNIX options. I believe this is because QDOS (the original MS-DOS V0.0) was based on CP/M, which was based on RSTS or some similar PDP-xx operating system interface. The CP/M copy program is called PIP, after the Peripherial Interchange Program. At any rate, that's why it works, it's not that anything in DOS changes, just that the command processor lets the / through. -- bill davidsen - sysop *IX BBS and Public Access UNIX davidsen@sixhub.uucp ...!uunet!crdgw1!sixhub!davidsen "Getting old is bad, but it beats the hell out of the alternative" -anon
fredex@cg-atla.UUCP (Fred Smith) (12/26/89)
In article <1762@agora.UUCP> rickc@.UUCP (Rick Coates) writes: > A number of applications simply will not run with the >switchar set to '-' (Norton utilities and SuperCalc, to name two). This >is highly annoying. Also, if you use 'system()' call in Microsoft C, >the spawned job dies with an 'Invalid path specification' message. I believe that system() in MSC 5.1 works just fine with the switch character set to '-' (for example), as long as you use the correct switch character in the '/c' switch, i.e., '-c', or '?c' or '#c" or whatever the switch character is set to. Fred