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From: dwhite@dsys.ncsl.nist.gov (Doug White)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re:  Dos slash experience
Message-ID: <26112@adm.brl.mil>
Date: 25 Feb 91 14:15:44 GMT
Sender: news@adm.brl.mil
Lines: 32


The easist way to keep some sanity when working in both the unix & dos worlds
is to take advantage of the dos command "switch". dos defaults to using the
backslash "\" for path name delimitation and the slash "/" as the switch or
option delimiter (instead of the hyphen "-" that we know and love).
the command "switch -" in dos will let you use the hyphen for command line options, and the regular slash for path names in most cases. sometimes the
dos applications themselves are assuming that the switch chracter will be 
a slash and bomb. I get around this by putting a directory /localbat first
in my dos path, where the contents are dos batch files that switch the switch
automatically and call the application.
for example: to start wordperfect (which bombs with the wrong switch)
create "wp.bat" in /localbat with (roughly) these contents-
	switch /
	wp.exe %1 %2 %3 %4
	switch -

if /localbat is first in the path (or ahead of the directory which contains
wp.exe), this batch file will set the switch to the (argh) default, call the
executable and pass command line options, then return the switch back to a
hyphen.

check out "switch" , "echo" , and parameter passing in the dos manual.
(oooh, there's an oxymoron!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Douglas White                                
 National Institute of Standards & Technology 
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 dwhite@dsys.ncsl.nist.gov     :) "The opinions contained herein are not 
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