Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!ucsd!nosc!cod!bmarsh
From: bmarsh@cod.NOSC.MIL (William C. Marsh)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Need input for future DOS release
Keywords: future DOS release
Message-ID: <1840@cod.NOSC.MIL>
Date: 27 Mar 90 18:29:00 GMT
References: <53686@microsoft.UUCP> <2017@clyde.concordia.ca> <1990Mar22.202023.25752@seri.gov> <246@edpmgt.UUCP> <260E5E5A.5404@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
Reply-To: bmarsh@cod.nosc.mil.UUCP (William C. Marsh)
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego
Lines: 25

In article <260E5E5A.5404@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn) writes:
$In article <246@edpmgt.UUCP> gpitcher@edpmgt.UUCP (Glenn Pitcher) writes:
$$Couldn't the shell be altered to intercept those directory requests and   
$$remap the characters before the actual open (or whatever) command is issued?
$
$   If you alter the shell, this would only affect commands issued from the
$shell.  Pathnames entered within applications would still require the use
$of the \ regardless of what you set.

These utilities are broken!  DOS has always accepted '/' and '\' for directory
separators during DOS calls.

$   Changing the path separator, however, could be implemented as a DOS
$call so that changes would be universal.

It is now.  Actually, what is implemented is the 'switch' character, which
the applications look for the switch character to indicate options.  
Unfortunatly,  It's just that fewer and fewer of the DOS utilities look 
anymore...

-- 
Bill Marsh, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, CA
{arpa,mil}net: bmarsh@cod.nosc.mil
uucp: {ihnp4,akgua,decvax,dcdwest,ucbvax}!sdcsvax!nosc!bmarsh
"If everything seems to be coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane."