Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!tektronix!ogcvax!omsvax!icalqa!hplabs!sri-unix!vortex!pete@LBL-CSAM
From: pete%LBL-CSAM@vortex.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: DOS 2.0 Hacking
Message-ID: <3805@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 3-Aug-83 10:18:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.3805
Posted: Wed Aug  3 10:18:15 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Aug-83 03:01:19 EDT
Lines: 18

From:  Pete Carah <vortex!pete@LBL-CSAM>

1.  The /dev directory doesn't really exist as a directory.  The
open/close routines handle it if presented with the name (and insist
on it if you put AVAILDEV F in your config).  Don't put AVAILDEV F in
config if you expect to use older programs (e.g.  MASM) to send output
to a device.

2.  SWITCHAR affects DOS and COMMAND but not any older application
programs.  In 2.0 there is a system call to interrogate the switch
character, but not all applications use it.

The problem with RESTORE is a genuine bug - they interrogate SWITCHAR
but proceed to ignore it in one critical place.  I have patched
RESTORE to get around the problem for backups taken with SWITCHAR -,
but then it won't restore backups taken with the normal /.

                            Pete