🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1jnmd4INNcmn@news.gac.edu> Anonymous U writes:
>John Villalovos writes
>DOS-programs
>> >in the background (multitasking), so I can work in the foreground with  
>another
>> >program. (like in UNIX: 'command &' runs 'command' in the background)
>> >I would prefer a unit or program in Pascal or a already compiled program.
>> 
>> Get OS/2.
>
>But does OS/2 have a feature like 'command &' in UNIX, so you don't have to  
>switch to another shell window to do something else?

Yes.  You can use "start" and/or "detach" to do this.  Using "start"
creates another window in which your program can use the keyboard, mouse,
and video.  Using "detach" does not create a window, and it does not
support the mouse, or the *physical* keyboard or video, although redirection
is still supported.  Usually, "detach" is used on non-interactive programs
(like a make-file) along with redirection, and "start" on everything else.

Examples:

[C:\] start xcopy c:\os2\apps\* a:
   (xcopy in another window)

[E:\programming] detach make > compiler_errors.dat
   (compile in the background, look at errors when its finished)

[D:\fonts] for %a in (*.zip) do start unzip %a
   (lots of unzipping!!!)

-- 
======= Mike Levis   mlevis@ringer.cs.utsa.edu =======
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