Re: [SLE] Bat files in Linux

• Previous message: Jim Sabatke: "[SLE] Annoying CD problem"
• In reply to: Steve Reynolds: "[SLE] Bat files in Linux"
• Next in thread: Steve Reynolds: "Re: [SLE] Bat files in Linux"
• Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]

Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 07:37:22 -0700 (PDT)
To: reynolds@fastmail.com.au, SuSE Linux Mailing List <suse-linux-e@suse.com>

On 29 Apr, Steve Reynolds wrote:
> I have a few commands that I would like to run at the command prompt.
>
> In Windows I do this with a bat file that looks like the sample below. How do
> I do a similar thing with Linux?
>
> For those not familiar with windows bat files the snippet below presents the
> user with a menu at the command prompt.
>
> In windows I have a shortcut to a text file called backup.bat, when I double
> click that shortcut I launch a DOS window with the menu below already loaded
> for the user. I would like to do a similar thing with Linux.
>
> <begin bat file snippet>
>
> @ECHO OFF
> CLS
> :LOOP
> ECHO Backup Menu
> ECHO ===========
> ECHO A. Flash Drive Backup J:
> ECHO B. Main Backup to CD
> ECHO C. Main Backup to F Drive
> REM ECHO D. Archive Backup
> ECHO E. Allofmp3 Backup to CD
> ECHO F. Flash Drive Backup I:
> REM ECHO G. REVERSE Flash Drive Backup From Linux:
> ECHO H. Photos Backup to iPod
> ECHO Q. Quit
> :: SET /P prompts for input and sets the variable
> :: to whatever the user types
> SET Choice=
> SET /P Choice=Type the letter and press Enter:
> :: The syntax in the next line extracts the substring
> :: starting at 0 (the beginning) and 1 character long
> IF NOT '%Choice%'=='' SET Choice=%Choice:~0,1%
> ECHO.
> :: /I makes the IF comparison case-insensitive
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='A' GOTO ItemA
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='B' GOTO ItemB
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='C' GOTO ItemC
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='D' GOTO ItemD
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='E' GOTO ItemE
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='F' GOTO ItemF
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='G' GOTO ItemG
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='H' GOTO ItemH
> IF /I '%Choice%'=='Q' GOTO End
> ECHO "%Choice%" is not valid. Please try again.
> ECHO.
> GOTO Loop
> :ItemA
> <snip>
>
> <end bat file snippet>
>
>
Steve,

If this kind of customization is what you expect from your computer, you
have come to the right place. With patience, GNU/Linux will likely
become your happy home.

This said, a little reading and experimentation will yield far greater
results here than in a MS Windows environment. While .bat files provide
a handy method through which to create quick utilities, particularly for
configuration and file management purposes, they are limited in their
ability to interact with other programs that virtually require a GUI
interface. Not so in an Unix environment, which is essentially all about
text files calling on one another - with no need for GUI startups. In
fact, most everything runs better behind the scenes.

Pontification aside, here's what I recommend. Get some instructional
material on Shell, Perl and TK. Knowledge in these areas will allow you
to write just about any command line app you require. They're rather
intuitive to my mind, and you should be able to learn them quickly.
Coming from a windows environment, I think you will find TK of
particular use, as it facilitates a series of apps that will help you
learn the differences between Windows and Unix methodologies.

Also, I strongly urge you to read your existing Shell scripts and
configuration files religiously. Even if you don't quite understand them
in the beginning, follow their system calls and library loading, etc.,
as much as you can. Again, Unix/Linux functions through a series of
interlaced files (largely text). So if you master the art of reading
these files and start to write your own, you will have total control
;) - which is really what we mean by FREE software.

I realize this might sound like preaching, but I wish someone had
properly explained the need for this information when I started running
this very distro some five years ago. I can't tell you how much I
struggled trying to make early Yast configure everything for me (what a
mangled mess I would weave in those early days).

Welcome and cheers!!

Regards,

-- 
John Lalla
Santa Barbara, CA
	         .~.	 _
	         /v\    -o)
no gates...     /( )\   /\\     running GNU/Linux
  no windows!   ^^^^^  _\_v        free at last!
"Our capacity for understanding is inversely proportional to how much we
think we know.  The more I know, the more I know I don't know . . . "

• APPLICATION/pgp-signature attachment: stored

• Previous message: Jim Sabatke: "[SLE] Annoying CD problem"
• In reply to: Steve Reynolds: "[SLE] Bat files in Linux"
• Next in thread: Steve Reynolds: "Re: [SLE] Bat files in Linux"
• Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]