Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!attcan!ncrcan!ziebmef!stephen
From: stephen@ziebmef.uucp (Stephen M. Dunn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: What files MUST be in the root directory?
Summary: parameters on COMMAND.COM
Message-ID: <1989Aug18.154103.9626@ziebmef.uucp>
Date: 18 Aug 89 19:41:01 GMT
References: <189@nisca.ircc.ohio-state.edu> <16741@ut-emx.UUCP> <2120@infmx.UUCP>
Reply-To: stephen@ziebmef.UUCP (Stephen M. Dunn)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Ziebmef Public Access Unix, Toronto, Ontario
Lines: 29

In article <2120@infmx.UUCP> aland@infmx.UUCP (alan denney) writes:
$In article <16741@ut-emx.UUCP> nather@ut-emx.UUCP (Ed Nather) writes:
[...]
$|shell=c:\systm\command.com  c:\systm /P /E:32
$Where is that second parameter (c:\systm) documented?  It sure isn't
$in the PC-DOS 3.3 manual (see pp. 4-42)  does it apply to earlier 
$versions of DOS only?  Is it undocumented?  Is it necessary?

   Yeah, DOS 3.30 doesn't document such a feature; in fact, it tells
you specifically that if your shell (be it command.com or otherwise) isn't
called COMMAND.COM and isn't in the root directory of your boot disk, you
have to set up the COMSPEC variable yourself.  Of course, if this is in
fact an undocumented feature, it wouldn't be the first time.

   As far as I know, DOS 3.00 was the first one to allow you to specify
the SHELL= line; PC-DOS 3.00's manual says you should put
   SHELL=[d:][\path\]COMMAND.COM
and mentions nothing at all about parameters (in fact, COMMAND isn't even
listed in the section dealing with commands!)  I don't have access to any
manuals for DOS 3.10 or 3.20; DOS 3.30 says COMMAND has only three
possible parameters (/C, /E and /P), and I don't have any 4.00 manuals
(and I'm not about to play around formatting diskettes /s under each
version of DOS and playing with the SHELL= line!)

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
! Stephen M. Dunn              stephen@ziebmef.UUCP ! DISCLAIMER:  Who'd ever !
!---------------------------------------------------! claim such dumb ideas?  !
! I have become comfortably numb ...                ! I sure as heck wouldn't !