Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!nbires!hao!husc6!bu-cs!madd
From: madd@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Jim Frost)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Program pathname in the environment.
Message-ID: <20191@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Date: 26 Feb 88 05:08:40 GMT
References: <2781@dalcs.UUCP> <4489@eagle.ukc.ac.uk>
Reply-To: madd@bu-it.bu.edu (Jim Frost)
Organization: Boston University Distributed Systems Group
Lines: 36

In article <4489@eagle.ukc.ac.uk> rde@ukc.ac.uk (R.D.Eager) writes:
>This is documented in the Technical Reference for DOS 3.x. Not in an obvious
>place, but it's with all the stuff that says what's in the registers on entry
>to a program (I think).

In the IBM Disk Operating System Technical Reference for PC-DOS 3.20,
under "4BH - Load or Execute a Program (EXEC)", p. 6-173, is says:

"Also inherited (or copied from the parent) is an "environment."  This
is a block of text strings (less than 32K bytes total) that convey
various configuration parameters.  The following is the format of the
environment (always on a paragraph boundary):

 [table deleted]

Typically the environment strings have the form:

  parameter=value

Following the byte of zero in the environment, is a WORD that
indicates the number of other strings following.  Following this is a
copy of the DS:DX filename passed to the child process.  For example,
the string VERIFY=ON could be passed. [...]"

This is word-for-word.  I have no clue why they put the description in
the middle of the discussion of the environment, but that's where it
is.  I could not locate it in any other location, including the
discussion of the PSP and the PSP map.

This is for MS/PC-DOS 3.0 and greater only.

This has all be said before, but it's sufficiently confusing that it
comes up every few months.

jim frost
madd@bu-it.bu.edu