Parsing Path in a cmd file?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stephen Quist
  • Start date Start date
S

Stephen Quist

Hi,

I'm trying to write a little command file to see if all the
directories in a PATH exist. I've run across a problem
with spaces in path names.

If I just check the path statement I get a list of names
separated with semicolons:
PATH=c:\perl\bin;c:\cygwin\bin;C:\PROGRA~1\MKSTOO~1\bin;...
This includes elements like this:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adaptec Shared\System; with embedded spaces.

When I use PATH in a for statement,
for %%p in (%path%) do (
echo %%p
)


The semicolons get converted to spaces:

for %p in (c:\perl\bin c:\cygwin\bin C:\PROGRA~1\MKSTOO~1\bin

so that when I get to the directory names that do contain spaces

I get what you'd expect, but not what I want:

C:\stuff>(echo C:\Program )
C:\Program

C:\stuff>(echo Files\Common )
Files\Common

C:\stuff>(echo Files\Adaptec )
Files\Adaptec

C:\stuff>(echo Shared\System )
Shared\System


Has anyone here already solved this little problem?



Thanks



Steve
 
Stephen said:
Hi,

I'm trying to write a little command file to see if all the
directories in a PATH exist. I've run across a problem
with spaces in path names.

If I just check the path statement I get a list of names
separated with semicolons:
PATH=c:\perl\bin;c:\cygwin\bin;C:\PROGRA~1\MKSTOO~1\bin;...
This includes elements like this:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adaptec Shared\System; with embedded spaces.

When I use PATH in a for statement,
for %%p in (%path%) do (
echo %%p
)


The semicolons get converted to spaces:

for %p in (c:\perl\bin c:\cygwin\bin C:\PROGRA~1\MKSTOO~1\bin

so that when I get to the directory names that do contain spaces

I get what you'd expect, but not what I want:

C:\stuff>(echo C:\Program )
C:\Program

C:\stuff>(echo Files\Common )
Files\Common

C:\stuff>(echo Files\Adaptec )
Files\Adaptec

C:\stuff>(echo Shared\System )
Shared\System


Has anyone here already solved this little problem?



Thanks



Steve
Click to expand...

Here's one way:

- - - - - - - - - - begin screen capture WinXP - - - - - - - - - -
C:\cmd>dir /ad \*dir*
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is B0CC-E24F

Directory of C:\

11/23/2004 03:20 PM <DIR> coadir
03/14/2005 03:36 PM <DIR> junkdir
12/07/2004 01:25 PM <DIR> my dir
03/15/2005 11:09 AM <DIR> some dir
03/15/2005 11:09 AM <DIR> some other dir
0 File(s) 0 bytes
5 Dir(s) 1,766,834,176 bytes free

C:\cmd>demo\ParsePath
"c:\no such dir" does not exist.

C:\cmd>rlist demo\ParsePath.cmd
=====begin C:\cmd\demo\ParsePath.cmd ====================
01. @echo off
02. setlocal
03. set "zpath=c:\coadir;c:\my dir;c:\junkdir;c:\some dir;c:\some other dir;c:\no such dir;c:\windows;"
04. set zpath=%zpath:;=$%
05. :main
06. for /f "tokens=1* delims=$" %%a in (
07. 'echo %zpath%'
08. ) do set first="%%a"&set zpath=%%b
09. if not exist %first%\. echo/%first% does not exist.
10. if defined zpath goto :main
=====end C:\cmd\demo\ParsePath.cmd ====================
- - - - - - - - - - end screen capture WinXP - - - - - - - - - -
 
In said:
Hi,

I'm trying to write a little command file to see if all the
directories in a PATH exist. I've run across a problem
with spaces in path names.

If I just check the path statement I get a list of names
separated with semicolons:
PATH=c:\perl\bin;c:\cygwin\bin;C:\PROGRA~1\MKSTOO~1\bin;...
This includes elements like this:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adaptec Shared\System; with
embedded spaces.

When I use PATH in a for statement,
for %%p in (%path%) do (
echo %%p
)


The semicolons get converted to spaces:

for %p in (c:\perl\bin c:\cygwin\bin C:\PROGRA~1\MKSTOO~1\bin

so that when I get to the directory names that do contain spaces

I get what you'd expect, but not what I want:

C:\stuff>(echo C:\Program )
C:\Program

C:\stuff>(echo Files\Common )
Files\Common

C:\stuff>(echo Files\Adaptec )
Files\Adaptec

C:\stuff>(echo Shared\System )
Shared\System


Has anyone here already solved this little problem?
Click to expand...

Unless it's an exercise or limited to batch you may find that
Bill Stewart's editpath.exe
can solve your problem

http://internet.cybermesa.com/~bstewart/misctools.html
http://internet.cybermesa.com/~bstewart/files/epath1.zip
 
My thanks to both Mark and Phil.

I ended up borrowing a technique from Matthias Tacke and ended up with
this:

@setlocal
@set BadPath=
for %%A in ("%path:;=";"%") do @if not exist %%A @set BadPath=%BadPath% %%A
@echo non-existent directories: %BadPath%
@endlocal


Steve
 
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