Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!mintaka!ogicse!intelhf!int13!tim
From: tim@int13.hf.intel.com (Timothy E. Forsyth)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: Re: Zero byte DOS files
Message-ID: <839@int13.hf.intel.com>
Date: 31 Aug 90 15:46:19 GMT
References: <23366@sequoia.execu.com>
Distribution: na
Organization: Intel Corp., Oregon MicroComputer Division, Hillsboro, OR
Lines: 81

jam@sequoia.execu.com (James LeBas) writes:
>Does anybody know how to get a .bat file to test for the length of another
>file; specifically, for the presence of a zero byte file?

With normal DOS batch commands, NO.

[The following batch line produces empty errlst even if goodfile.txt exists.]
>	if not exist goodfile.txt echo goodfile.txt missing >> errlist
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^                           ^^^^^^^^^^

I believe the relationship between the IF and >> is as I have marked above.

There are two ways to keep from creating the errlist file, in the first all
commands are in the same batch file; in the second you create a secondary
batch file.

Example 1:

TEST.BAT

  <Leading batch file commands>

  IF NOT EXIST goodfile.txt GOTO missing
  GOTO continue
  :missing
  ECHO goodfile.txt missing >> errlist
  :continue

  <Trailing batch file commands>


Example 2:

TEST.BAT

  <Leading batch file commands>

  IF NOT EXIST goodfile.txt CALL missing.bat goodfile.txt

  <Trailing batch file commands>

MISSING.BAT

  ECHO %1 missing >> errlist

If you are going to be checking for the existance of a lot of files, I
suggest you creat a batch file CHKEXIST.BAT which is a modification on
example 1.

TEST.BAT

  CALL chkexist.bat file1.txt
  .
  .
  .
  CALL chkexist.bat file2.txt
  .
  .
  .
  CALL chkexist.bat file2.txt
  

CHKEXIST.BAT

  IF NOT EXIST %1 GOTO missing
  GOTO end
  :missing
  ECHO %1 missing >> errlist
  :end


Hope this is of some help.

Tim Forsyth

(Disclaimer:  This is just sharing of my own experiences with DOS batch
              files, and has nothing to do with my employer, Intel Corp.) 

-- 
Tim Forsyth, tim@int13.hf.intel.com or forsytim@ccm.hf.intel.com
Intel Corp., Oregon MicroComputer Division, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA