🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <D95JZ1w164w@undrground.UUCP>, undrground!seanp@amix.commodore.com (Sean Petty) writes:
> is there a DOS patch, or a TSR, or any type of program or fix which
> will allow me to seperate filenames with the (/) slash on my MS-DOS PC?

You can use programs that reset the MS-DOS internal switch character, but
that can lead to incompatibility problems with some programs.  Years ago, I
used a public domain program called SWITCHAR.COM to set the internal switch
character to '/', and certain programs that used overlays stopped working.
My theory was that DOS now wanted forward slashes, and these programs were
still using the backward slashes, so that's why it didn't work.  Also, some
programs parse the command line themselves, and don't check the MS-DOS
internal switch char.

The solution I have been using for years is the Thompson Toolkit
(formerly known as PolyShell).  Thompson Toolkit is a UNIX-compatible
shell that attempts to blend the best of the DOS and the UNIX
environments.  IMHO, it succeeds.  It comes with the utilities you
would expect: mv, cp, rm, ls, find, more, and so on.

All Thompson Toolkit utilities accept either '/' or '\', or any
combination thereof, and the shell itself has a translation mode where
it will map '/' to '\' for you.  So you type the '/' you are
comfortable with, but the program being run sees it as the '\'.  It can
also translate '-' to '/' if you wish.

Note that using Thompson Toolkit instead of changing the internal switch
character won't help you *inside* applications: any paths you type inside
and application will have to use the normal '\' character.  But I find that
almost all the paths I type are in the shell.

Thompson Toolkit is available from Thompson Automation, (503) 224-1639.
It costs $149 for DOS alone, $179 for both OS/2 and DOS, and you can get
Thompson AWK bundled with it for an extra charge.  Thompson AWK is very
useful and well worth having.

I have no connection with Thompson Automation except that I am a very
satisfied customer.
-- 
Steve "I don't speak for Microsoft" Hastings    ===^=== :::::
uunet!microsoft!steveha  steveha@microsoft.uucp    ` \\==|