I too used command line DOS, wrote my own batch files and created menus, etc. in DOS because I hated typing in the same danged thing every time I wanted to launch (much less install) a program.
Thankfully I have forgotten most of it though I will admit there are a few things I will still drop down to a command line to do, ipconfig, ping, tracert, etc. Cheryl D. Wise MS FrontPage MVP http://mvp.wiserways.com http://starttoweb.com - Online instructor led web design training in FrontPage, Dreamweaver and more! -----Original Message----- From: Scott Glasgow > year ago. As far as I can see it needs command line instructions to load > any programs (there are a few very basic ones already in) and I have > not Boy, I'm glad that when I started with MS-DOS 3.11 back in the eighties that stuff wasn't required. Oh, wait... I forgot. It _was_ required. Had to go through all that nasty stuff like learning the operating system, how the file system worked, FDISK, FORMAT, the PATH and all those other nasty environment variables, batch files... you know, all that ugly ol' computer stuff, before I could actually get anything done on my... umm, computer. Sorry, Joseph, couldn't resist. ;-) The way you worded that, "As far as I can see it needs command line instructions (GASP!!) to load any programs... ," as if a command line were some sort of mysteriously inscribed pentagram into which only the most intrepid and powerful wizards might venture, was just was too big an opening not to take a shot at. FWIW, I don't know one-tenth as much about the xNix command line as I did about MS-DOS, and probably never will. At the time, it was not an option to NOT know DOS if you were a programmer and power user (an archaic term which referred to Those Who Knew); it was a given. Now, I write application programs, and develop Web sites, for the Windows environment, so it's not strictly a necessity anymore for the environment which is my current milieu. here?" <snipped> The command line is still powerful, even in these XP times. Occasionally when I have a problem nowadays I drop to a command prompt to run ipconfig, telnet, or some other CLI-based app that is still the best and most appropriate way to do things. I've even written a few cmd (batch) files for various purposes. For example, to switch between HOSTS files when the customized one I've got (to block 95% of Web advertisements) blocks a site I want to see. There are still tasks which are done much more efficiently at the command line than in Windows. DEL *.bak /S from the root of a drive will banish every single file with a "bak" extension from the drive without having to search them out in Explorer and mark them for deletion. Changing the attributes of all those read-only files you just transferred from CDR requires only ATTRIB -r *.* /s. ____ The WDVL Discussion List from WDVL.COM ____ To Join wdvltalk, Send An Email To: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] or use the web interface http://e-newsletters.internet.com/discussionlists.html/ Send Your Posts To: [email protected] To change subscription settings, add a password or view the web interface: http://intm-dl.sparklist.com/read/?forum=wdvltalk ________________ http://www.wdvl.com _______________________ You are currently subscribed to wdvltalk as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at: Jupitermedia Corp. Attn: Discussion List Management 475 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016 Please include the email address which you have been contacted with.
