To crash after typing "EXIT" just because I don't have /P on my SHELL line is not very nice! ;-)
Agreed. IMHO the crash should be avoided by a) reloading command.com, b) blocking the "exit" command, c) anything ;-)
Here's how other DOSes handle this (SHELL=FREECOM.EXE, typing "EXIT" after it loads):
1. MS-DOS 7.10 says "The following file is missing or corrupted: COMMAND.COM", then loads its own COMMAND.COM (if available), says "File creation error" ;-) and shows C:\> prompt so you can work.
2. ROM-DOS 7.1 says "Bad or missing Shell (FREECOM.EXE)", then shows C> prompt, and expects you to type a new shell name, which it then loads if it exists and shows C:\> prompt so you can work.
Of course, copying any of the above is not mandatory, but at least it must not crash! A crash is always dangerous. Now it crashes "gracefully" with "invalid opcode", but tomorrow it may wipe your CMOS (happened to me when I tested HIMEM64 alpha version!), and next day it may even wipe your BIOS (happended to a friend these days when he tested his alpha version!). And guess what happens when your boot block is damaged too (my friend's case!) and its flash ROM is soldered or you don't have a device programmer with the required PLCC32 to DIP32 adapter. Do you have to throw out your main board just because you typed "EXIT" without knowing that this was the primary shell?
So, it's not just about making it foolproof. It's about making it robust. Both are important IMO.
Now, the printf "system shutdown complete / reboot now" and for(;;); lines 426-427 in main.c are unreachable code and I'd just remove them. But what about the removed hook to save space? Was it done in build 2026 two years ago? What was this hook and can we re-introduce it somehow?
Lucho
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