Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!ists!yunexus!xrtll!silver
From: silver@xrtll.uucp (Hi Ho Silver)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc
Subject: Re: Multiple 'path' line in autoexec.bat
Message-ID: <1990Nov11.002052.7148@xrtll.uucp>
Date: 11 Nov 90 00:20:52 GMT
References: <1990Nov9.191001.15360@mcs.anl.gov>
Reply-To: silver@xrtll.UUCP (Hi Ho Silver)
Organization: Not around here, pal!
Lines: 43

In article <1990Nov9.191001.15360@mcs.anl.gov> park@anmsd3.msd.anl.gov writes:
$I am writing a long path statement in the Autoexec.bat file, 
$it takes up more than one line. How do I continue from the first line 
$to the second ?

   If you need to add stuff onto an environment variable from within a
batch file, you can include the current contents of that variable by
enclosing its name in percent signs.  For example:

set foobar=this is a silly
set foobar=%foobar% little example

   The variable foobar will then contain "this is a silly little example".
Keep in mind, though, that because of DOS's length restriction on command
lines (<128 characters), you'll never get your path up to 120 characters,
as the length limit includes the expanded version of any %variables% (in
the above example, the length of the second line is on the order of
50 characters, not 40, because where you see %foobar%, DOS sees the
contents of that variable).

   Rather than having a huge path, however, you should determine which 
of your directories really do need to be on your path.  A large path wastes
time when searching for executables and batch files, since DOS will look
in the current directory, then in every directory in your path, until it
finds the program you asked for.  This will slow down program loads,
particularly if you're using a floppy or a slow hard drive.

   If you have any more than three or four directories in your path,
you probably have too many.  Generally, you shouldn't put applications
in your path; instead, create a directory for batch files and put that
in your path.  Put batch files to run your software in that directory.
Also, running some software from a directory other than the one it was
installed to may cause it to be unable to find some of its files.

   Like everything else, there are no hard and fast rules; some people
may have legitimate needs for an application to reside in the path, and
some people may really need long paths.  But these cases are few and far
between.
-- 
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