Programming Question

[Gary R Wheeler]

Been there, do that fairly regularly. Our automated build process is a combination of an MFC GUI front end, a VBScript script, several batch files, and our tool chain (Visual Studio, Inno Setup, Nero, etc.). The batch files are useful for redirecting output to build logs. It sounds horrible, but it's a case of applying the right tool for each job in the process. I also use batch files for a number of administrative things, scheduled tasks, and so on.

Software Zen: delete this;

[Rajesh Krishnamoorthy]

There are lot :) Mostly to copy files from FTP

[Atique Rahman]

Me too have adopted powershell. It's funny that my first fun with computers started with batch files.. It's also funny how I came to computer science growing up in a remote country side area where a computer was not available within the perimeter of 7 km. I collected a book of norton which introduced me to computers.. I was just imagining how computers look like.. how different components work and how I will deal with this magnificent invention if I stand face to face. :) A year later I bought a book of DOS and my .bat started.

[Locust2000]

I do sometimes. When you want to push out a few commands to a batch of XP PC's through LogMeIn Central it's hard to beat a .bat file for ease, simplicity and compatability(powershell not always installed).

[Riaan Booyzen]

I still find use and write one once a week or so just on my dev machine. I use powershell on the servers.

[MustrumRidcully]

I still use them as part of scripting the installation builder process. (That process also uses Shell Scripts on Linux and Mac, ANT and - this is really shameful ;) - NSIS) I've learned a lot of magic about .bat files that I never expected them to be able to do!

[Pete B37]

I still use them because I couldn't be bothered (win32) to get eclipse to find the FLTK libraries to build under mingw/GCC so I wrote a build script, as I might in Bash under linux so every time I add a source, I have to add a another line and add entry to linker

[Member 2053006]

Three days ago. Batch file to delete WoW cache before starting the game. End of last month - batch file for running my entry into Facebook Hacker Cup (failed!) <----- Geek!

[smcnulty2000]

Writing them for a current job. I had to re-learn some things. Although I'm using the cmd extension instead of .bat. There is a need to use something that acts as glue in a complex system. In this case it had to be something that would be easy to describe in documentation to people downstream and that I could be sure would work in all the places I need it. Some of them are run from inside of T-SQL. Others are run on schedule. I have one that monitors a set of internal web sites and looks for key words to see if they are up or not. Another that's looking for a change in a particular directory. Supposedly I'll figure out how to do all this with power shell one day but for now I'm using batch files.

_____________________________ Give a man a mug, he drinks for a day. Teach a man to mug... The difference between an ostrich and the average voter is where they stick their heads.

[tsyuan02231]

still using it ^^

[Magnamus]

I'm still working in CP/M

[CHill60]

I'd be lost without them (well our systems would be). Hmm... hadn't realised how much of a dinosaur I am until I just glanced at my taskbar and spotted two minimised dos boxes CMD windows.

[sweMesSer]

Though I'm still young (well pretty young at least, reaching in on 30). I have written some in order to get DOS to do things for me. However, I can't really say I have utilized them in the last 10 years or so. Nowadays I usually create some command prompt-exe or some graphical windows forms/WPF-tool. This since it makes it easier to improve and extend into something useful that other people can use. What do you use .bat-files for and why do that instead of a program?

[Robert Chafer]

I still use batch files. I used one yesterday to rename a large group of files. I processed file filenames with a Notepad++ macro and 'massaged' them into a set of copy commands (copied to a safe location). We still use them quite a lot for controlling the build process of our compiler...

[torst3n]

23 and writing them bats, boss. mainly cause I think it's faster then ps scripting and reason is cause I usually need to check if a task is done before I start another one.

[KLPounds]

due to the awkward security settings at my work, PS scripts are blocked, WSH scripting is hit or miss, but I can batch script till the screen turns blue. Sometimes it's just the quick and dirty tool for the job. Guess I'm just of the right era as I was a DOS mule as a child learning computers. ASCI based menu systems and command prompt was how my dad rolled. All that point and click and eye candy stuff was for my angsty teenage years.

[Wartickler]

We use them a lot in SharePoint production deployments. Once our app is ready for prod we package the PS in bat files so the sys admins can just double-click and install.

[Josh Riedmiller]

I prefer to use PERL to do the heavy stuff but almost always wrap a batch file around it to pass arguments.

[reilly96]

If by .bat files you mean .cmd files I write and use them all the time

[PRISMAY]

I still use them quite a bit although I use the .cmd files. ;) I use them from anything like running automated encoding on multiple video files to running automated deployment projects on our servers. I am, however, slowly moving towards WSH just because I can use c# but it'll be a while before I'm there and I don't see ever being weaned competely off of the command prompt as it offers too many handy and quick utillities. :) Just another old fogie I guess.

------- PRISMAY