Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!mks!wheels
From: wheels@mks.UUCP (Gerry Wheeler)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: PC Tools Deluxe Version 5 is out!
Summary: MKS Toolkit suggestions
Keywords: really
Message-ID: <662@mks.UUCP>
Date: 8 Feb 89 16:22:15 GMT
References: <2569@pegasus.ATT.COM> <3847@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Organization: Mortice Kern Systems, Waterloo, Ont.
Lines: 46

In article <3847@cbnews.ATT.COM>, pmd@cbnews.ATT.COM (Paul Dubuc) writes:
> I'm also trying to use PCTOOLS with the MKS Toolkit.  It's a nightmare. 
> The desktop and pcshell can't find their overlays when executed under
> ksh (resident or not) even when I include the PCTOOLS dir in the PATH. 

While I don't have PCTools to test, I can offer a general idea that
might work. 

Some new programs use the name they get from DOS (since DOS 3.0, I
think) to locate their overlays.  For example, if you run the command
foo, and foo is found in directory c:\dos, foo will be able to retrieve
the name c:\dos\foo.exe .  It can use the directory portion of this to
locate its overlays. 

Now, when you're using the MKS Toolkit, you may have the PATH set with
forward slashes in it.  And, even if you don't, the shell will use a
forward slash when it appends the program name to part of the path to
see if the file exists.  For example, the name the program gets might be
c:\dos/foo.exe or c:/dos/foo.exe .  This causes complications if the
program in question is unprepared to handle forward slashes. 

You can get around this by specifying the full pathname of the program
and use backslashes.  Since the shell doesn't have to search for the
program, it doesn't mess with the name you gave.  You'll have to quote
the string or something so the shell doesn't strip out the backslashes,
though.  For example, you might type this command:

	$ 'c:\dos\foo.exe'

Give that a try to see if it cures the problem you mentioned.  If it
does, you can then save yourself some typing by creating a shell alias:

	$ alias foo='c:\dos\foo.exe'

I've seen this cure similar problems with other programs that use
overlays, so I suspect it will work here too.

If I may, I'd like to make a request of you software authors out there
-- please write your programs so they will handle either type of slash
in pathnames.  It would make life easier for many people. 

-- 
     Gerry Wheeler                           Phone: (519)884-2251
Mortice Kern Systems Inc.               UUCP: uunet!watmath!mks!wheels
   35 King St. North                             BIX: join mks
Waterloo, Ontario  N2J 2W9                  CompuServe: 73260,1043