MS-DOS bat files must die...
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BAT for scripting? Bleargh. BAT for quick automation? Gold.
GCS d--(d+) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
I'm curious to hear the difference in their definitions. :)
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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You have to remember that .BAT files were invented in the days of floppy disks and command lines, when you didn't want to create a C program that included a 50K library file in order to sort a directory listing by modification date then print it to the display in pages; and another to do it in reverse size order; and another of only show the "ACC*.CSV" files the same way, and ... That they still work at all, and are of any use - and they are, occasionally I'm sure even if I personally haven't used one in decades - is a testament to just how well they were designed in the first place! The world has moved on, is all - so we expect more power, more flexibility, better structure.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
Because I spend a lot of time using Linux I have a few .bat files on my Windows boxes that mirror my Linux common and aliased commands. I would love Windows to support aliases.
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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I still use them, they are just so easy to work with compared to the "wonderful" Powershell.
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And me - if you're going to use the advanced PS stuff you might as well write a proper compiled program
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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I have no idea who came up with this crap, but I will piss on his/her grave. Off to a real scripting language...
Charlie Gilley <italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape... "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
How should I compile without batch files ? :laugh: I like them. Back in the years, I even made quite powerful things with batches ( against all best practices of coding, of course. Batch is organized chaos).
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I'm curious to hear the difference in their definitions. :)
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Scripting is programming the shell, with complex logic (i.e. conditions, loops, etc). Quick automation to me means executing a simple sequence of commands with their parameters, with only a very small amount of logic (i.e. setting relative paths, file names and in some cases checking some return value). It's a quick macro, a shortcut to avoid typing dozens of characters.
GCS d--(d+) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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Scripting is programming the shell, with complex logic (i.e. conditions, loops, etc). Quick automation to me means executing a simple sequence of commands with their parameters, with only a very small amount of logic (i.e. setting relative paths, file names and in some cases checking some return value). It's a quick macro, a shortcut to avoid typing dozens of characters.
GCS d--(d+) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
It's odd how definitions tend to change with time. When I studied automation many many years ago, scripting was one of the tools available to achieve the task... today it seems to be a cron job.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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DOS Batch files have been dead since Windows 95. They were replace by Windows .cmd files, which actually are rather powerful for someone who knows how to use the various commands and their switches.
obermd wrote:
Batch files have been dead since Windows 95.
:omg: :omg: :omg: :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: Really? I guess 70% of the world just didn't get that memo.
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I still use them, they are just so easy to work with compared to the "wonderful" Powershell.
And then you run into things like PowerShell is disabled because users can't be trusted not to destroy the systems with it. :laugh:
We won't sit down. We won't shut up. We won't go quietly away. YouTube, and My Mu[sic], Films and Windows Programs, etc. and FB
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I have no idea who came up with this crap, but I will piss on his/her grave. Off to a real scripting language...
Charlie Gilley <italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape... "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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Quote:
Batch files have been dead since Windows 95
Noooooo! I still use them every day! With Windows 10!
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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I have no idea who came up with this crap, but I will piss on his/her grave. Off to a real scripting language...
Charlie Gilley <italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape... "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
I love the answers to this. For everything someone hates (except maybe linq) there are at least a person or 15 that loves it. I personally use BAT files all the time. Like someone said. Perfect for automation of something simple, IE copy file1 to file location2 at this time everyday. I also use Powershell a ton. It works it is difficult to learn and get accustomed to. But it is powerful. When in Linux I use your good old shell scripts. Those are awesome. But I am stuck with bat and winders powershell at work. Also, love that comment about powershell security for some people to keep them from shooting themselves in the foot. HAHAHAHA
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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Because I spend a lot of time using Linux I have a few .bat files on my Windows boxes that mirror my Linux common and aliased commands. I would love Windows to support aliases.
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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I have no idea who came up with this crap, but I will piss on his/her grave. Off to a real scripting language...
Charlie Gilley <italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape... "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Bat/cmd files are and always will be the easiest way to automate the command line. Many times, it's even easier to use a bat file in task scheduler than it is to try and get the commands working with task scheduler, especially if there are multiple commands or maybe other considerations. The right tool for the job, as always. As far as in depth scripting, everyone knows the best tool is vbscript. :cool: When that fails, bust out the Visual Studio...or sometimes powershell once in a blue moon.
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Because I spend a lot of time using Linux I have a few .bat files on my Windows boxes that mirror my Linux common and aliased commands. I would love Windows to support aliases.
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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I tried to install 4DOS on my Win10 box the other week so I could use aliases. Should I just die in shame?
Ah yes! 4DOS. That brings me back a way.
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charlieg wrote:
I have no idea who came up with this crap, but I will piss on his/her grave. Off to a real scripting language...
Usually, when people make statements along these lines, I reply: Why the elephant do you select a 40+ year old command interpreter language? Why haven't you switched to Powershell many years ago? The typical answer is, like: Huh?? Powershell? I never cared to look at it, and I am certainly not going to waste my time on it! Why hasn't Windows switched to something like bash? I'll tell you why: Because Windows users simply refuse to learn anything new. They will not realize that with bash, they could write really advanced scripts, but they are simply ignorant and lazy. Me: Yeah, I guess you are right. Linux guys are far more willing to learn of alternatives to their favorite tools. Just look at yourself, how eager your are to learn the advanced command processor that is native to Windows! The other guy: Go *** yourself! You are exactly the way Windows guys are. You go ahead first, and learn bash, then you can start patronizing. Me: I have been using bash for about twenty-five years. The other guy: So why do you tell me not to use it? Me: Maybe you are better off getting a bash interpreter for Windows...
bash is just as awful write-only thing as the cmd processor's language. Which parentheses today, and how much of them? Just look at any java starter sh file how much pain is to figure out where java is installed. Debugger support is also outstanding.
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I have no idea who came up with this crap, but I will piss on his/her grave. Off to a real scripting language...
Charlie Gilley <italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape... "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
It appears it was Tim Paterson and he's not dead yet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBxMPqxJGqI. So, you'll have to wait. My company has been using some .bat files for certain things and they still work decades later, never needing an update or change.
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DOS Batch files have been dead since Windows 95. They were replace by Windows .cmd files, which actually are rather powerful for someone who knows how to use the various commands and their switches.
"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend; inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. -- Groucho Marx
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I have no idea who came up with this crap, but I will piss on his/her grave. Off to a real scripting language...
Charlie Gilley <italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape... "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
I found that the two big problems with .bat files ( actually the command interpreter ) _wasn't_ it's weakness, but that the bright eyes at Microsoft: 1, typically didn't have commands return anything ( the stupid elephanting "void main(void)" mentality before that plague started ), and 2. edlin can't do search and replace when script driven. ( As I remember, it can't do _anything_ useful without using the "F" keys. ) ( I had a Regulus box years back, it built the apropos database ( overnight ) by reading the man directory and chaining shell scripts, I think the only thing it did other than build scripts with ed that dos couldn't by itself was use "roll" to pick successive keywords)
