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From: fisher@sc2a.unige.ch
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: v08i302: savedir, save current dir and cd (part 01/01)
Message-ID: <1990Nov30.110707.325@sc2a.unige.ch>
Date: 30 Nov 90 09:07:07 GMT
References: <2372@sixhub.UUCP>
Followup-To: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Organization: University of Geneva, Switzerland
Lines: 84

[REPOST, due to NEWS problems]

About c.b.i.p's:
> Posting-number: Volume 08, Issue 302
> Submitted-by: rxcob@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au
> Archive-name: savedir/part01
> 
>   This is another piece of Austrailian shareware, which saves the
> currect directory before going to another.
> 
> author's description:
> 
> SAVEDIR.EXE - Save directory
> 
> Saves the current drive and directory to a batch file which when executed
> restores them and deletes itself unless /D (dont delete) is specified.
> A .BAT extension is automatically added to the filename if required.
> 
> SHAREWARE:
> Registration fee: $20 for Private/Domestic use         ($ Australian)
>                   $30 for Professional/Commercial use  ("      "    )

I'd hate to spoil the autralian shareware market, but IMHO, any owner of
a decent compiler can write himself such a program.  But the problem is
one of analysis.  I'm no professional either, but this is clearly a case
of `let's program first, we'll think later...'.

An example:

C:\ADM\LETTERS\1990> savedir work
[ 
work.bat is now:
  @C:
  @cd \ADM\LETTERS\1990
  @del WORK.BAT
]
C:\ADM\LETTERS\1990> cd \
C:\> d:
D:\> cd \games
D:\GAMES> play
[... oops, somebody! ... Ctrl-C, quick! ...]
D:\GAMES> work
Bad command or file name

D:\GAMES> c:adm\letters\1990\work
[ nice... :-]


Hmm.  So this is why `pushdir' is often a TSR?  But there is another solution.
A few years back, after reading the manual TurboC, I wrote a small program,
called `write' - now in queue for posting in c.b.i.p -, which simply
translates the string on the command-line much like in the `prompt' syntax.
Thus my own `savedir' is a batch file:

   @ write :Saving cwd $_@$n:$_@cd $p > %TMP%`oldir'%2.bat
   @ if %1~ == -d~ write $_@del %TMP%`oldir'%2.bat >> %TMP%`oldir'%2.bat 

working with an `oldir.bat':

   @ if exist %TMP%`oldir'%1.bat %TMP%`oldir'%1
   @ echo No directory saved   %1

Whenever I need to save the current location (let's say in another batch):

   call savedir -d x
   [...]
   call oldir x

Of course TMP must be set, so that I can locate the file from anywhere...
`C:\TMP\`oldir'x.bat' is:

   :Saving cwd 
   @C:
   @cd C:\ADM\LETTERS\1990
   @del C:\TMP\`oldir'x.bat [ <EOF> is here, not on the next line, of course ]

If you inted to use the `savedir.exe', you should also use the same trick
(i.e. `savedir %TMP%popdir') to be able to locate the batch file when you
need it.

Still, watch out for `mfwrite.zoo', as it's *free*, as well as the two batch
files above :-)

Markus Fischer, Dpt. of Anthropology, Geneva.