Martin Walsh wrote: > '/dev/null' is a special file in a *nix environment that discards any > data written to it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//dev/null > I can't think of a windows parallel to /dev/null.
Merely for completeness, the windows (sort of) equivalent is the little-known NUL special filename. So: dir > nul has the effect of showing no output. Likewise: copy abc.txt nul will do nothing. (Useful, no?) Confusion typically arises, because the command line will swallow any part a filename after the NUL, so NUL, NUL: and NUL.TXT are all equivalent. Try this: dir > nul.txt No output, and no file called "nul.txt". And again: copy abc.txt nul.txt will likewise do nothing. On the other hand: dir > null will generate a filename "null" with the output of the dir command. Bit of a sidetrack, I admit, but just in case anyone was wondering :) TJG _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
