Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!amdahl!pacbell!att!alberta!dvinci!lowey
From: lowey@dvinci.USask.CA (Kevin Lowey)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: DOS 4.0 patch for ECHO OFF default
Summary: Why bother patching?
Message-ID: <1641@dvinci.USask.CA>
Date: 16 Jan 89 03:16:59 GMT
References: <Jan.13.16.00.06.1989.17544@elbereth.rutgers.edu>
Organization: University of Saskatchewan
Lines: 18

In article <Jan.13.16.00.06.1989.17544@elbereth.rutgers.edu>, 
kkelly@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Kevin Kelly) writes:

> Does anyone have a patch for IBM DOS 4.0 that makes ECHO OFF the
> default for batch files?  I've used such a patch on DOS 3.{1,2,3} so I
> would like to maintain the feature as I upgrade.

  MS-DOS 3.3 introduced a new feature in batch files.  Any line starting with
"@" in column 1 is not echoed to the screen.  So if you have a batch file and
you don't want anything echoed, including the starting ECHO OFF, then you can
start the batch file with:

  @ECHO OFF

  I find this a better solution than patching the operating system.  This way
everything stays compatible with what people EXPECT MS-DOS to do.

-- Kevin Lowey