Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnewsc!psfales
From: psfales@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (Peter Fales)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: DOS 3.30 PATH and Environment lengths
Summary: Problem is command.com
Keywords: Please HELP: What's wrong with this picture?
Message-ID: <2095@cbnewsc.ATT.COM>
Date: 28 Jul 89 04:24:35 GMT
References: <3695@i.sei.cmu.edu>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 30

In article <3695@i.sei.cmu.edu>, gjp@sei.cmu.edu (George Pandelios) writes:
> Greetings Netlanders!
> 
> I'm having trouble setting my PATH to a length larger than an small 
> (127?) number of characters.  According to the DOS 3.3 manual, that 
> is suppossed to automatically expand.  Is this really a hard limit?

I think the problem here is not the environment space, but a 
limitation in COMMAND.COM.  Commands being executed are stored
in an internal 128 character buffer, so no command can be longer
than that limit.  (That's why you get fewer characters with
SET PATH= then with just PATH).

This limit applies after variable and parameter substitution, so
even you are tempted to try something like

PATH=a;b;c
PATH=%PATH%;x;y;z

it still WON'T work.

I believe there are programs around that manipulate the environment
space directly, to allow longer variables and paths.  I never
used anything like that myself, so I don't have a reference.

-- 
Peter Fales			AT&T, Room 5B-420
				2000 N. Naperville Rd.
UUCP:	...att!peter.fales	Naperville, IL 60566
Domain: peter.fales@att.com	work:	(312) 979-8031