Mark Yocom's Script Tips
Scripting tips, covering batch, VBScript, and the occasional Perl script.
Windows command line references
I found that TechNet has references for the Windows command line utilities. Much of these are just a...
Date: 01/28/2008
On blogging tools
One of the obstacles to frequent posting (at least mine) is that the types of posts I typically make...
Date: 08/26/2006
Definitive list of illegal filenames?
Earlier, I tried to come up with a definitive list of illegal filesystem names, but it seems this is...
Date: 07/11/2006
More on command line redirection
For those of you who are more interested in the gritty details of command line redirection, RaymondC...
Date: 05/17/2006
Evolution of a solution
The other day, someone posted a message at work asking for a way to find out the drive letter for...
Date: 10/01/2005
Making your scripts look prettier
Many languages provide a mechanism to make their code look pretty. VBScript, for example, assumes...
Date: 09/30/2005
That's a pretty shifty argument...
It's pretty easy to deal with up to 9 arguments in batch through built-in variables %1 through %9....
Date: 06/30/2005
Ignoring the output of a command
Earlier, I used >nul 2>&1 to suppress the output of a command, and the question was...
Date: 06/08/2005
Opening web pages from the command line
I spend a lot of time in a CMD window. I mean a lot of time. Often I'd like to open a web page, but...
Date: 06/07/2005
Backslashes vs. slashes - who knew?
Here's something I'd never noticed until today, when I discovered it quite by accident. In general,...
Date: 06/07/2005
Bugs and assumptions
There's a fine line between an assumption and a bug. If the assumptions are spelled out ahead of...
Date: 06/07/2005
So what the heck just happened there...?
In the previous post, there was a fair amount of code and basically no explanation... Here's how it...
Date: 06/03/2005
Creating unique filenames in a batch file
Someone today was asking how to create unique filenames. They had some process which ran in a loop,...
Date: 06/03/2005
Two quick file-manipulation scripts from the vault
There are a couple of scripts that have been with me since the beginning of time. I don't use them...
Date: 06/03/2005
Typos vs. muscle memory
It occurs to me that my mistypings of 'notepad' and 'exit' are probably more the result of...
Date: 06/03/2005
Laziness is a virtue
Some scripts are complex and do lots of cool stuff. Others are simple and save a bunch of time. I...
Date: 06/03/2005
Looking through my own toolbox
In the beginning, there was DOS. And DOS had batch files - little scripts that ended in .BAT. So,...
Date: 06/03/2005
Books to have at your fingertips
There are a couple of books that I have found to be particularly useful. Whether you're a beginner...
Date: 06/03/2005
Tools to have in your toolbox
The Windows 2003 Resource Kit has a number of indispensible tools. For scripting, the two handiest...
Date: 06/03/2005
First Post!
I wonder how many first posts in blogs are given the title "First post!". I'm guessing a good 75%....
Date: 06/03/2005