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From: paula@bcsaic.UUCP (Paul Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.att
Subject: Re: Anyone know how to discover the DOS switch character?
Message-ID: <2783@bcsaic.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Nov-87 19:04:53 EST
Article-I.D.: bcsaic.2783
Posted: Mon Nov 16 19:04:53 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Nov-87 22:13:34 EST
References: <2678@ihlpf.ATT.COM> <2257@ihuxy.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: paula@bcsaic.UUCP (Paul Allen)
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle
Lines: 34
Keywords: DOS, IBMPC, PC6300, switch, assembler
Xref: mnetor comp.sys.ibm.pc:10244 comp.sys.att:1788

In article <2678@ihlpf.ATT.COM>, warren@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Montgomery) asked
for help in getting the value of the DOS switch character.

In article <2257@ihuxy.ATT.COM>, vg55611@ihuxy.ATT.COM (gopal) wrote:
>Apparently the switchar can be read using INT 21H with AH=37H, AL=00H.
>The switchar is returned in DL (I have not tried this).
>
>But, why read the switchar at all ?   Just replace all occurrences of '/'
>with '\' in the arg string (or the string of concern) and then the user of
>your program can use either.  This is what I do with programs I write.
>
>Venu P. Gopal
>ihnp4!ihuxy!vg55611

This is fine for pathnames, but you need to know the switch character if
you are going to exec a program that expects switches.  I run with the
switch character set to '-', and I also use Don Kneller's excellent
ndmake program.  My old version of ndmake executes command.com with the
/C switch.  It refused to work on my system until I used debug to change
the '/' into '-'.  If ndmake had checked the switch character and
invoked command.com appropriatly, I wouldn't have had a problem.
Perhaps Don's recent 4.3 version checks the switch character.  I haven't
had time to find out.

By the way, I think it would be nice if *all* programs checked the
switch character, including &%!# MS LINK.  Does anybody know of a
version of DOS that does *not* support changing the switch character?

Paul

-- 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Paul L. Allen                       | paula@boeing.com
Boeing Advanced Technology Center   | ...!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!bcsaic!paula