Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!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: Getting rid of "syntax error" from .bat files - how to?
Message-ID: <1990Dec10.023128.21316@xrtll.uucp>
Date: 10 Dec 90 02:31:28 GMT
References: <9467@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Reply-To: silver@8xrtll.UUCP (Hi Ho Silver)
Organization: Not around here, pal!
Lines: 24

In article <9467@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> brand@cad.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Graham Brand) writes:
$I have written a batch file which accepts parameters from the command
$line using the:
$	if %1==param1
$syntax. It works fine except that if I don't pass any parameters, I
$get the above syntax error message. Is there any way to suppress this?

   Yup.  The reason, incidentally, that the above doesn't work is that it
expands to

	if ==param1

which is incorrect.  So all you need to do is add a constant character to
both sides of the expression; for example,

	if _%1==_param1

(pick your favourite character, as long as it has no special meaning to
the shell).
-- 
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