Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ssbell!mcmi!amperif!unocss!ho@fergvax.unl.edu From: ho@fergvax.unl.edu (Tiny Bubbles...) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: What files MUST be in the root directory? Message-ID: <1477@unocss.UUCP> Date: 17 Aug 89 15:18:52 GMT References: <2120@infmx.UUCP> Sender: news@unocss.UUCP Reply-To: ho@fergvax.unl.edu Distribution: usa Lines: 31 From article <2120@infmx.UUCP>, by aland@infmx.UUCP (Dr. Scump): > In article <16741@ut-emx.UUCP> nather@ut-emx.UUCP (Ed Nather) writes: > |I keep command.com in a directory I call "systm", and have the following > |line in my config.sys file: > | > |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? Does it apply to earlier versions of DOS only? No. It's required for all. COMMAND can't check argv[0], because argv[0] is stored after the end of the environment (kludge!). By definition, the top-level COMMAND knows that it is the top dog by making sure its environment is NULL. As such, no argv[0] (starting path, for non 'C' hackers) can be stored or retrieved, unlike all other programs under DOS 3.0+ which /can/ find their environments. Is it undocumented? As far as I'm concerned, everything in an IBM manual is undocumented. :-) As for whether it's in the manual, I'm not sure. I never read it if I want to know something important. I may have read about it on the net. Is it necessary? Yes. Without it, your COMSPEC will be set wrong (it will point to the root directory, as COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM) and you won't be able to remove COMMAND from the root directory. --- ... Michael Ho, University of Nebraska Internet: ho@fergvax.unl.edu USnail: 115 Nebraska Union UUCP: !Im!not!sure!how... Lincoln, NE 68588-0461