site to find Win9x and 2000/XP differences in batch command

  • Thread starter Thread starter S?bastien WILLEMIJNS
  • Start date Start date
S

S?bastien WILLEMIJNS

hello,

i'm looking for a site who know all the differences between 98 and XP
batchs language because i want to update my 98 batchs to XP ;)
 
S?bastien WILLEMIJNS said:
hello,

i'm looking for a site who know all the differences between 98 and XP
batchs language because i want to update my 98 batchs to XP ;)
Click to expand...

Any NetCafe is now boycotting CS because of Steam and
since Nvidia swindling by optimizing their drivers for benchmark,
all people is now purchasing ATI. Hmmm, "Norton Internet Security"
is crashing Win98... so we will soon use other software... BUT
anyway, you won't use Linux instead of Microsoft ?

OK. Here's a compromise:

Create a file named "Choice.VBS".

Then, when a batch file in WinXP see this:
Choice /c:123abcABC Hello
then it find "Choice.VBS" instead of "Choice.COM"
so you don't need to rewrite your old batch file:

@echo off
choice /c:123abcABC Hello
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) DO IF ERRORLEVEL %%!0 SET E=%%!
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) DO IF ERRORLEVEL 1%%!0 SET E=1%%!
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4) DO IF ERRORLEVEL 2%%!0 SET E=2%%!
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) DO IF ERRORLEVEL %E%%%! SET E=%E%%%!
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4 5) DO IF ERRORLEVEL 25%%! SET E=25%%!
echo. The Errorlevel is %E%
pause

:: Benny Pedersen, http://2dos.homepage.dk
:: BTW: ignored the Choice /S switch.
:: PS: is also working without colon in the /C: switch.
:: TIPS: do ... loop while 0=errLe :-).

'Choice.VBS:
dim allow, input, errLe
allow = WScript.arguments(0)
allow = mid(allow, inStr(uCase(allow), "/C:") +3)
input = inputBox(WScript.arguments(WScript.arguments.count -1) &_
vbLf & vbLf & "Input one of the following characters:" &_
vbLf & allow, """Choice"". Press Enter when done.", "*")
errLe = inStr(allow,input) + cInt(input=empty)
wScript.quit(errLe)
 
Benny Pedersen said:
Any NetCafe is now boycotting CS because of Steam and
since Nvidia swindling by optimizing their drivers for benchmark,
all people is now purchasing ATI. Hmmm, "Norton Internet Security"
is crashing Win98... so we will soon use other software... BUT
anyway, you won't use Linux instead of Microsoft ?

OK. Here's a compromise:

Create a file named "Choice.VBS".

Then, when a batch file in WinXP see this:
Choice /c:123abcABC Hello
then it find "Choice.VBS" instead of "Choice.COM"
so you don't need to rewrite your old batch file:

@echo off
choice /c:123abcABC Hello
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) DO IF ERRORLEVEL %%!0 SET E=%%!
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) DO IF ERRORLEVEL 1%%!0 SET E=1%%!
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4) DO IF ERRORLEVEL 2%%!0 SET E=2%%!
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) DO IF ERRORLEVEL %E%%%! SET E=%E%%%!
FOR %%! IN (0 1 2 3 4 5) DO IF ERRORLEVEL 25%%! SET E=25%%!
echo. The Errorlevel is %E%
pause

:: Benny Pedersen, http://2dos.homepage.dk
:: BTW: ignored the Choice /S switch.
:: PS: is also working without colon in the /C: switch.
:: TIPS: do ... loop while 0=errLe :-).

'Choice.VBS:
dim allow, input, errLe
allow = WScript.arguments(0)
allow = mid(allow, inStr(uCase(allow), "/C:") +3)
input = inputBox(WScript.arguments(WScript.arguments.count -1) &_
vbLf & vbLf & "Input one of the following characters:" &_
vbLf & allow, """Choice"". Press Enter when done.", "*")
errLe = inStr(allow,input) + cInt(input=empty)
wScript.quit(errLe)
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good trick Benny! Have you tested it with any kludge syntax
used for parsing? Depending on what the old batch was doing, this trick may
require that the default host be set to CSCRIPT to assure the correct host
is used.
 
Todd Vargo said:
"Benny Pedersen" <b.pedersen(NO.SPAM)@get2net.dk> wrote

Sounds like a good trick Benny! Have you tested it with any kludge
syntax used for parsing? Depending on what the old batch was doing,
this trick may require that the default host be set to CSCRIPT to
assure the correct host is used.
Click to expand...
The same idea came to my mind, so you could include in the batch:
(works from w2k up)

@echo off & enableextensions
::Store old default host
ftype VBSFile >StoreHst.txt
::Set default to CScript
cscript //H:CScript //NoLogo >Nul
::
:: Do whatever needs Cscript
::
::restore old default host
for /F "delims=*" %%A in (StoreHst.txt) do ftype %%A>NUL
Del StoreHst.txt>NUL

Who regularly needs this choice replacement would himself set Cscript
as the default. But for changing environment this tip will ease cleanup.
And it works for all temporary assoc/ftype changings.
 
S?bastien WILLEMIJNS said:
hello,

i'm looking for a site who know all the differences between 98 and XP
batchs language because i want to update my 98 batchs to XP ;)
Click to expand...

Good luck. But you may be making too much work for yourself. It is quite
likely that your batch files do not use all of the Win98 features that would
cause you problems when converting them to XP.

Also, some of the differences are merely additional features in XP that,
since they do not exist in 98, your batches will not be using them. For
example, XP batch has boolean operators like:

if /i "%var%" EQU "john" ...

You may be using the "==" operator, which works just as well in XP.
Similarly, in XP, you can do arithmetic with variables:

set /a var1 = 12
set /a var2 = 23
set /a var = var1 * var2

Nice to know, but since your 98 batches are not likely doing any arithmetic,
there is no need to change them because of this difference.

I'm not suggesting that you will face no challenges in the migration, as
there are a number of things that your batches might be doing that would
work differently in XP. Some of these may be common side effects of commands
that you have come to rely on. While instructive, a site listing all of the
goofy things that have been done to make pre-NT batch more useful would
contain a lot of information otherwise useless to you. Unfortunately, you
are very unlikely to find a site or resource that just the features that you
have implicitly made use of.

Others will, I am sure, give you lots of reference info, and that is great.
I would recommend that you break your project into the following phases:

- are some of your batches generating functionality missing in 98 that is
present in XP without writing a batch file?

- are some of your batches doing things that, because of other differences
between the operating systems, are no longer necessary?

- of the important batch files, which ones run correctly on XP without
modification?

- those that fail to run, do you really need them? do they produce error
messages? What else do they do? Some will likely be fairly easy to track
down by setting echo on instead of off, for example.

Once you have converted your batches to run, and are operational in XP, you
might think about some of the added functionality now available to you,
whether to enhance the operation of the existing scripts or to help you
create new ones. But don't get too involved with adding functionality when
job number one is to get things working in the new environment.


/Al
 
Good luck. But you may be making too much work for yourself. It is quite
likely that your batch files do not use all of the Win98 features that would
cause you problems when converting them to XP.
Click to expand...

i've only noticed that i must use commas in my "if %1==foo goto foo"
but
is it sufficient ?
example, XP batch has boolean operators like:

if /i "%var%" EQU "john" ...

Nice to know, but since your 98 batches are not likely doing any arithmetic,
there is no need to change them because of this difference.
Click to expand...

no, see my first answer ;) it is very easy to find a site who explain
news improvements from XP/2K batchs...
- are some of your batches doing things that, because of other differences
between the operating systems, are no longer necessary?
Click to expand...

my batchs
- of the important batch files, which ones run correctly on XP without
modification?
Click to expand...

0/2 :)
- those that fail to run, do you really need them? do they produce error
messages? What else do they do? Some will likely be fairly easy to track
down by setting echo on instead of off, for example.
Click to expand...

yes, of course... i will be do it, it is only the alone method i can
now
use ;)

i think all my problems was only "syntax" error due to "small
languages" changes............. but i'm surprising nobody has not the
same trouble as me
when it has upgraded from 9x to 2K or XP ;)))))
 
S?bastien WILLEMIJNS said:
"Al Dunbar" <[email protected]> wrote in message


yes, of course... i will be do it, it is only the alone method i can
now
use ;)

i think all my problems was only "syntax" error due to "small
languages" changes............. but i'm surprising nobody has not the
same trouble as me
when it has upgraded from 9x to 2K or XP ;)))))
Click to expand...

Oh, believe me, we all ran into problems. It is just the nature of batch
programming (i.e. we all do it differently) that the specific problems I
might have had would never happen to you, and vice versa.

/Al
 
Todd Vargo said:
Sounds like a good trick Benny! Have you tested it with any kludge syntax
used for parsing? Depending on what the old batch was doing, this trick may
require that the default host be set to CSCRIPT to assure the correct host
is used.
Click to expand...

Hi

I ignored the /S switch, so the previous Choice.VBS could often fails.

@echo off
CHOICE /C123ABC Hello
REM would use Choice.VBS in WinXP (could temporary be
REM simulated in Win98) like:
REM cScript.exe//noLogo CHOICE.VBS /C123ABC Hello

Benny Pedersen,
PS. Details about the below Choice.VBS:
1: Escape would returns errorlevel 0.
2: The inputBox can't count down, so ex.
/T:a,1 won't work (only the "a" would be used).
BTW. Choice.VBS could still be useful as replacement for
Choice.COM in WinXP. Anyhow, the below is better
than the previous version.

' Choice.VBS
dim i,args,a,cArg,sArg,nArg,take,msg,errL
for i = 0 to (WScript.arguments.count -1)
args = args & replace(WScript.arguments(i),"/",";/") & ";"
next
args = split(args,";")
for i = 0 to uBound(args)
a = args(i)
if not a = empty then
select case uCase(left(a, 2))
case "/C" cArg = mid(a, 4 + (mid(a,3,1)<>":"))
case "/S" sArg = true
case "/N" nArg = true
case "/T" take = mid(a,-1 + inStr(a,","),1)
' tSec = mid(a, 1 + inStr(a,","))
case else msg = a
end select
end if
next
do: if nArg then
take = inputBox(string(5,vbLf) & msg, "Choice:", take)
else
take = inputBox(vbLf & "Input one of the following " &_
len(cArg) & " character(s): " & vbLf & vbLf & cArg,msg,take)
end if
if sArg then
errL = inStr(cArg, take) + cInt(take=empty)
else errL = inStr(uCase(cArg), uCase(take)) + cInt(take=empty)
end if
loop while(take=empty xor take=vbEmpty)or (errL=0 and take<>empty)
wScript.quit(errL)
 
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