Random Thoughts

[Scott5114]

Since my memory is apparently falling apart lately...  Am I crazy, or didn't the DOS prompt used to be just C:\ before changing to C:\>?

The versions that I used always had the > there. The > is the actual prompt, and everything before that is the working directory (i.e. "where you are" in the filesystem). So it would behave as follows:

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C:\> cd programs
C:\PROGRAMS> _

The bash shell on Unix normally uses $ as its prompt character instead of >. If you are logged in as the administrator, it changes to #.

[ZLoth]

Why would you use a text editor to edit a executable? If you were on a MS-DOS machine, the system startup files were config.sys and autoexec.bat. Like many other people, I also used QEMM to better manage the lower 640k of memory as well as the upper memory above 1 GB.

Aha!  Yes, I misremembered.  It was C:\>edit autoexec.bat.

Since my memory is apparently falling apart lately...  Am I crazy, or didn't the DOS prompt used to be just C:\ before changing to C:\>?

What your prompt looked like is dependent on the MSDOS PROMPT command, and most everyone put PROMPT $P$G as the second line in the autoexec.bat file after @echo off. In fact, if you open up a command prompt and do a SET commend, you will see the line PROMPT=$P$G.

[kphoger]

The versions that I used always had the > there. The > is the actual prompt, and everything before that is the working directory (i.e. "where you are" in the filesystem). So it would behave as follows:

Code Select Expand

C:\> cd programs
C:\PROGRAMS> _


Thanks.  Chalk it up to a false memory, I guess.

What your prompt looked like is dependent on the MSDOS PROMPT command, and most everyone put PROMPT $P$G as the second line in the autoexec.bat file after @echo off. In fact, if you open up a command prompt and do a SET commend, you will see the line PROMPT=$P$G.

Ah, thank you for the reminder!  I just opened up the Windows command prompt to give  prompt $P  a try, and it definitely looks very, very wrong that way.  Even  prompt $P\  looks completely wrong.

[I-57/Route 66 Fan]

I went to the County Fair this weekend, they no longer have tickets, they now have credits, and the rides cost twice as much.