Message-Id: <199709232325.TAA04361@kanga.INS.CWRU.Edu>
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 19:25:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: jls11 AT po DOT cwru DOT edu (John L. Spetz)
To: opendos AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re:  \ to /
Reply-To: jls11 AT po DOT cwru DOT edu (John L. Spetz)
Precedence: bulk

Reply to message from ark AT mpak DOT convey DOT ru of Sun, 21 Sep
>
>[dd]
>
>> Are there any dos varients which allow the \ to be changed to /
>> as is usual for unix?
>
>DOS itself (int 21h system calls) allows that [neraly] everywhere.
>So it depends on applications - command.com does not,*sh do etc..
>--- 

There was an interrupt call available (37h I think) to change the
switch character from the default / to, say, - like the Unices 
use.  There is even a TSR available at Simtel somewhere to restore
this feature to newer MSDOS versions where MS has withdrawn support
for the interrupt.  Apparently the switch character is stored in a
global variable rather than being hard-coded at least at the DOS
level.  If the global is changed even GASP command.com internal 
commands will use - for the switch.  The reason few people, even
Unix-philes, use this feature is that almost every DOS program
conceivable as well as the system utilitites in newer DOSes *do*
hard code the switch character to / and assume *only* \ can be
used as a path separator.  In theory all dos programs were supposed
to call one of the int 37h calls to decide what switch character to
use but try to find a compiler whose compiled programs honor this.