Xref:	news2.mv.net comp.os.msdos.djgpp:8389
Newsgroups:	comp.os.msdos.djgpp
From:	design AT netcom DOT com (Chris Waters)
Subject:	Re: executing unix scripts under dos
Message-ID:	<designDxDyHt.31n@netcom.com>
Organization:	Design and Delivery
References:	<50s8th$76i AT lex DOT zippo DOT com>
Date:	Sat, 7 Sep 1996 23:27:28 GMT
Lines:	44
Sender:	design AT netcom8 DOT netcom DOT com
To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway:	from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

In article <50s8th$76i AT lex DOT zippo DOT com>, John Saya <jsaya AT erc DOT cat DOT syr DOT edu> wrote:
>I have gcc compiled for dos, but am wondering how I can run the
>scripts that come with most of the unix programs out there.

Word of warning: make sure you *really* want to!  Most *NIX scripts make
a *lot* of assumptions about the system they're running on--assumptions
which won't apply under DOS.

That said, I've had a lot of success using the MKS toolkit (commercial
port of the *NIX shell and basic tools), and reasonable success using
Iain Stewartson's free super-bourne shell and the gnuish tools  (usually
found near whereever DJGPP is stored).  One thing to keep in mind is
that *NIX scripts often make assumptions about where things are stored
(e.g. /bin/cat, /usr/bin/touch).  One of the first things I do is look
for a PATH statement at the top of a script, and edit that if needed.

However, one thing I have learned from painful experience is to NEVER
run a *NIX script unless you have read and understood it completely. 
Too many invalid assumptions about your system can end up trashing
important things.

My success rate with *NIX scripts in general is about 70-80% (higher
than most people probably), but with software configuration scripts in
particular (which is probably what you're concerned with), it is much
lower!  Maybe 20-30% after heavy reading/editing.

Another thing that will cause you major headaches:  running scripts from
compiled C programs.  One of my biggest complaints about DJGPP is that
the system() command is always trying to second-guess me about how
something should be executed.  I have a very UNIX-like command-line
environment, but DJGPP tries to avoid using my command line, which I
hate.  (I also hate that it doesn't recognize 4DOS's .btm files or
``executable extensions'' too.  This makes its second-guessing all but
useless to me.)

>is there something out there that will [...] maybe turn
>them into .bat files?

Dream on!  This is about as likely as a program which turns C code into
..bat files, and for the same reason:  .bat files are not able to do 90%
of the things that a typical *NIX script can and does do.  The default
DOS shell (COMMAND.COM) is an all but useless piece of clutter on your
hard drive.  At the very least, I recommend getting 4DOS or Iain
Stewartson's shell, and better yet both.

- Raw text -