Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ncoast.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!cwruecmp!hal!ncoast!bsa From: bsa@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Newsgroups: net.micro.pc Subject: MS-DOS braindamage Message-ID: <748@ncoast.UUCP> Date: Sun, 30-Jun-85 15:54:04 EDT Article-I.D.: ncoast.748 Posted: Sun Jun 30 15:54:04 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 5-Jul-85 03:59:21 EDT References: <229@timeinc.UUCP> <7700007@prism.UUCP> Reply-To: bsa@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Followup-To: net.micro.pc Organization: North Coast Xenix, Cleveland, OH Lines: 55 Expires: Quoted from <7700007@prism.UUCP> ["Re: Changing the dumb '\' to '/'..."], by matt@prism.UUCP... +--------------- | /**** prism:net.micro.pc / ukc!rde / 10:32 am Jun 22, 1985 ****/ | | One thing you might try on DOS 3.x is to change the SWITCHAR using the | system call (I too am not certain that it exists, though), then invoke a | second copy of COMMAND. This should read the revised value and get the | desired effect (at a small loss in available memory). | | /* ---------- */ | | This DOES work, and you do NOT have to load a second copy of the | command processor - the original copy will know about the new switch | character. | | The DOS call of interest is function 37 (hex), which is listed as | reserved for DOS's use. If function 37 is executed with AL set to | 0, the current switch character is returned in DL. If it is | executed with AL set to 1, the value in DL becomes the new switch | character. +--------------- It didn't seem to work on here (ITT DOS 2.11/1.0, apparently MS-DOS 2.11), but that may have been a mistake of mine; I was trying to hack through it with DEBUG.COM, without much documentation. +--------------- | While we're on the subject of hacking DOS 3.1, does anyone know the | new location to patch in command.com to increase the environment | size to something reasonable? You would think after all this time | that the Microsoft clones would realize that 128 bytes is just too | small! (Fascinating that they though it was more important to | include the ability to specify the last disk drive letter in DOS | 3.0, but didn't think of allowing you to specify the environment | size! Now THAT would be a useful thing to put in config.sys. +--------------- Why don't they just use dynamic environments? MS-DOS can handle 32K in the environment (says my manual), why don't they REALLOC the memory when they add or delete environment variables? BTW, I put in the MS-DOS 2.x patch for larger COMMAND environments; I didn't look to see if it worked, because the new COMMAND.COM wouldn't load my AUTOEXEC.BAT any more. Anybody know why? One last question. The LEADING EDGE PC runs MS-DOS 2.11 (or is it 2.13); the COMMAND on there groks %env-var% in batch scripts. Is this a feature of MS-DOS 2.13, Leading Edge COMMAND.COM, or what? (It sure doesn't work on MY system, that I can see.) --bsa -- Brandon Allbery, Unix Consultant -- 6504 Chestnut Road, Independence, OH 44131 decvax!cwruecmp!ncoast!bsa; ncoast!bsa@case.csnet; +1 216 524 1416; 74106,1032 ========================> Trekkies have Warped minds. <=======================