Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!rutgers!cmcl2!phri!marob!daveh
From: daveh@marob.MASA.COM (Dave Hammond)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: No fork() in MSC5.0, help...
Message-ID: <336@marob.MASA.COM>
Date: 22 Jul 88 13:37:29 GMT
References: <9900005@bradley> <3083@emory.uucp>
Reply-To: daveh@marob.UUCP (Dave Hammond)
Organization: 18th Street Construction Co NY NY
Lines: 34

In article <3083@emory.uucp> platt@emory.UUCP (Dan Platt) writes:
>In article <9900005@bradley> brian@bradley.UUCP writes:
>>
>>  I'm considering writing a shell for the IBM PC... I'm using Microsoft
>>C 5.0...................[stuff deleted]................................
>
>>  Unfortunatley, to do I/O redirection.................................
>
>You want PIPEs.  Well, there aren't any real pipes in DOS (unlike UNIX)
>since there is no multitasking.  However, there is re-direction and
>DOS does support a pseudo-PIPE..........................................
>

May I recommend an excellent book (and accompanying source code diskette):

   ``On Command: Writing a Unix-like Shell for MS-DOS'', by Allen Holub

Published by M&T Publishing, 800-533-4372

The book explains subprocess spawning, i/o redirection, piping, environ
management and history substitution in detail. The optional source diskette
contains a very useable MS-DOS shell, as well.

>This is one reason to 1) Go to UNIX systems, or 2) Go to OS/2 (if it...

OPINION:
UNIX yes! OS/2... When UNIX (on a '386) can provide DOS file compatibility,
DOS program execution, X-Windows, Ethernet, TCP/IP, and hundreds of utilities,
what's the point of an OS/2 (barring discussions on bureaucratic comfort
with Big Blue).

Dave Hammond
UUCP:   {uunet|rutgers|spl1|...}!hombre!marob!daveh
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