Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 10:07:30 -0500 (EST) From: "Mike A. Harris" Reply-To: "Mike A. Harris" To: Jude DaShiell cc: opendos AT delorie DOT com Subject: Re: wish list 2.0 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Organization: Total disorganization. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Fri, 28 Mar 1997, Jude DaShiell wrote: > I just thought of something, the config.log and autoexec.log files should > always generate on a boot. If there were no errors in config.sys when > the machine booted then config.log could be erased. > If there were no errors in autoexec.bat then autoexec.log could > be erased. Boots should do destructive writing of these log files. > If an error does happen or perhaps more than one error, perhaps the offending > parameter on the command line could be tagged with a caret > in front of it. > I know systems especially the faster ones boot up too fast > even for people with 20:20 vission to read the screen much of the time and this > feature were it implemented would remove > that requirement. Well, this (if implemented) should be as an option only. The default behaviour should be to leave the "bootlog" intact and let the user decide. The reason? Semantic errors. In other words, lets say that you make a typo in CONFIG.SYS, but that that typo is ok with DOS ie: no error. However, that typo causes something to go wrong later on which renders the machine unusable. If the log was deleted, then you've got nothing to go on for reference. As for the tagging with a caret, that wouldn't work because 4DOS uses the caret as a command separator much like the ";" in UNIX. I think something like the following would be more appropriate (and is the way it works now in 6.22/4DOS) ERROR: in config.sys line 14: defice=c:\blah.com Or something very similar. Also, single step debugging should be an option on CONFIG.SYS/AUTOEXEC.BAT, as well as other batch files. I don't know if COMMAND.COM does this for batches allready, but 4DOS does. The kernel would have to take care of CONFIG.SYS stepping. Mike A. Harris | http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris Computer Consultant | Coming soon: dynamic-IP-freedom... My dynamic address: http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris/ip-address.html mailto:mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca LINUX: Lost access to your keyboard after a game? Email me for fix.