Steven wrote:
>> This is a bug IMNSHO, a program should check to see
>> that the input it gets is correct.
>
>Correct? What's correct? Is "del *.com" correct?
>Is "format a:/u" correct? Is "deltree windows" correct?
Perhaps I missunderstood but isn't the problem due to the fact that "dev"
and whatever more it was didn't exist in the current directory? This is
fairly easy for a program to test.
You answered:
> dd if=cdrom/Corel/Boot/boot1440.img of=dev/fd0
You've left out the / in /cdrom and /dev.
>Why pick on Linux? DOS is the same.
NO IT IS NOT! If the user types in an incorrect syntax the program should
NEVER EVER screw anything up - it should exit gracefully (or atleast not
make any changes and hang). This is exactly what I want to point out - the
Linux world obviously have trouble grasping this (not based on what you are
answering of course but on how the program does). Without these easy checks
it will not be popular (since it is unsafe). Frankly I don't care much, but
you as a Linux user (and FANatic <g>) should IMO. Or is Linux only meant
for some people?
DOS is safe in the sense that you can never screw anything up by typing
something that isn't according to the syntax. That you as a user can format
the HD and other things is something else entirely (you can destroy things
if you want to but never by incorrect syntax).
>If a user makes a
>mistake in a command, he can get a distructive result.
True, but this is about syntax not the meaning of that syntax. If the user
happens to give a command that is allowed then it's the users fault.
>For example, if you carelessly hold down the shift key
>while entering "del 8ball.com", you will delete every
>com file in that directory. Try that in your root DOS
>directory for some real fun.
I will? I've never tried that, might I ask how that's going to happen?
(And I can always undelete in DOS).
Ok, here goes....
C:\DOS\>DEL (BALL:COM
No such file or directory
C:\DOS\>DEL BALL:COM (using numeric 8)
No such file or directory
C:\DOS\>del 8ball.com (Shift-Enter)
No such file or directory
Perhaps you should start looking for viruses? Because DOS has never and
will never act in the way you describe.
Ok, you probably meant using a US keyboard, lets take a look (CTRL-ALT-F1):
C:\DOS\>DEL *BALL>COM
No such file or directory
Obviously you haven't grasped how the * works in DOS and Linux. A
momentarly failure in your own RAM perhaps since I'm positive you knew
this. Only way to accidently remove all COM files like that would be to hit
the following keys:
d, e, l, , , "shift-8" (*), "miss the keyboard", "miss the keyboard", "miss
the keyboard", "miss the keyboard", ., c, o, m
which will be "del *.com"
The chances of that happening are very slim, and this is in anyway diffrent
from the dd bug since the program can't know that this wasn't something the
user wanted - no (or very few anyway - they should use some other program,
"cmosdestroy" or whatever) users want their CMOS destroyed.
>At some time, all of us have deleted the wrong file or
>formatted the wrong disk. Format, del, deltree and debug
>are like loaded guns -- you need to be very careful how
>you use them.
Sure we've all done it - but due to ourselves not due to a malfunctioning
program (except Scandisk then but I have complained about that one before).
undelete, unformat and a backup will fix those three.
>The incident which gave arise to this thread involved
>dd (a low-level Linux command, similar in destructive
>potential to the DOS debug command). Tell me, Bernie,
>what would you say if a DOS newbie mangled debug and
>crashed his CMOS ?
If it was due to an error in Debug then Debug is incorrect, but if it was
due to an error that the program couldn't be able to spot then it's the
users fault.
