DOS .BAT menus

[GordonSweet]

Yes - you have done exactly what I have been doing for years. Running and altering a BAT file from a QB program to conserve RAM. I have now put my glorified menu system with Keyboard and mouse versions on the QB page of my site for all to do whatever they wish. I am sure many could improve on it, especially my lazy coding, where I could not even be bothered to indent! But it all works OK on Win XP. Those interested goto below.

Gordon

http://sionet.mysite.wanadoo-members.co....QBASIC.htm

[j2krei08]

DOS is the main part of my life on a computer. I was so proud of myself when I first discovered, "Hey, you can make the computer do things itself!"

[GordonSweet]

I expect you are already aware you can Boot up a PC with any Windows DOS only.

Win 3.3 needs DOS 6.2 etc, but you can easily create DOS disks or Win 95,98, XP etc. I have an old 486 with only a 500Mb Hard drive I can boot in Win XP ( Millenium ) DOS. Win 98 inwards have the options to created DOS start-ups, but for Win 95 try using PCA from my site below which shows all hidden files. So just copy over at least IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and DRVSPACE.BIN to a blank floppy to Boot up and then whatever you need.

Gordon

http://sionet.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/PCA.zip

[Pc72]

If you have an assembler at hand, then assemble this for a BAT menu. IT gets a key and returns the scan code in errorlevel... Simple and fast. And foolproof. As far as I remember, you get a 14-byte program. Invented by myself! It's from the assembler tutorial I wrote ages ago... Hehe

.model tiny
.code
org 100h
start:
xor ah,ah
int 16h
mov al,ah
mov ah,4Ch
int 21h
end start

Assemble it to sumthin like HEHE.COM, and then use it like...


@echo off
echo.Press Up to run QBasic
echo.Press Down to start Windows
echo.Press Left to launch Turbo C++
echo.Press Right to run Turbo Pascal
echo.Press anything else to get outta here
hehe
if errorlevel 72 goto qba
if errorlevel 80 goto windy
if errorlevel 75 goto tac
if errorlevel 77 goto tapa
:qba
qb
goto stop
:windy
win
goto stop
:tac
tc
got stop
:tapa
turbo
top
echo.Congratulations! You just won a trip to Afghanistan! Click
echo.
echo.HERE
echo.
echo.to claim the free tickets.
echo.
pause >nul
echo.April Fool!

[GordonSweet]

Very clever, though I am not sure I fully understand. I do have the following Freeware emulators I will put up amongst the QB stuff on my site if there is a demand. I once used the Z80 emulator to run MBASIC off the Amstrad PCW, but I think it is stuck on a 1.2 Mb HD 5.25 disk somewhere I can no longer read. I should have never got rid of the old 5.25 Floppy PC drive, though I can still copy stuff from 360 K 5.25 Floppies using BBCBASIC for Windows.

Gordon


Public Domain and Shareware Files Updated: 04/12/86
--------------------------------- -----------------

The files included on this disk are:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Ext Description
A86 assembler package V3.07 July 13, 1987
The entire package is Copyright ©1986-1987 Eric Isaacson.
All rights reserved.

For easier bulletin-board distribution, I have split this package
into three ARC files, A86V307A.ARC, A86V307B.ARC, and
A86V307C.ARC. The first file contains enough to get you started;
you can evaluate the package and then download the second and
third files later on.

PLEASE read Chapter 1 for legal terms and conditions, how to
register for the package, and the overview of the assembler.


QUESTION: "I bought this assembler from XYZ Software House, that
advertised great software for $5 per disk. What's going on
here? Have I already bought an assembler, or what?"

ANSWER: Well, no, not exactly. You've bought a disk that has
great software on it; you haven't bought the software yet.
A86, like the vast majority of software offered by the $5-per-
disk distribution houses, is free-distribution software (also
known as "shareware", or "user-supported software"). That
means I retain the right to A86, but I choose to let people
pass it around. I have no business relationship with any
distribution houses; I don't get a penny of the $5 (or
whatever) you paid them for the disk containing A86. So I need
and expect to be paid by you, because I'm trying to make a
living out of making and supporting shareware products.


---------------------------------------------------------------------
CP/M Emulator

NECINFO ARC Text file full of good info. on V-20
V20-80 ARC Very good (and fast!) Shareware V-20 CP/M emulator
V20TIMER ARC V-20 CPU timer program (.COM, .ASM, and .DOC files)
VINTRO ARC Juan Jimenez's Tutorial Introduction to the V-20/30
Z80MU ARC Joan Riff's Software Z-80/CPM emulator
ARC DOC Documentation on ARC.EXE program below
ARC EXE System Enhancement Associates's ARChive program
ARC TXT Short form of documentation for ARC.EXE
ARCE123 COM Fast de-ARC program
READ ME Documentation file for this disk
READ ME2 Late update information on files

** NOTICE ** : All ".ARC" files are ARCHIVE type files that must first
be "de-ARCed" before using. To "de-ARC" a file, you should use the
"ARC.EXE" program. For an example, "A>ARC E VINTRO B:\*.*" will de-ARC
all files in "VINTRO.ARC", where the drive containing this disk is drive
"A", "VINTRO" is the .ARC file you are de-ARCing, and the target disk
and directory for the de-ARCed files is drive "B", root directory. This
assumes that drive "B" has enough room for the de-ARCed files. Read the
section on "Extracting Files" in "ARC.DOC" for further help on de-ARCing
files. Using "ARCE123.COM" speeds up de-ARC appreciably.

[GordonSweet]

The DOSBOX has allowed me to use so many of the old DOS stuff we could never get Windows to run. But here is a little program that demonstrates well a bug I find in the otherwise excellent DOSBOX

First compile it with Quick basic as BATRUN.EXE, then run it once to create the BATMENU.BAT, but enter nothing for a selected file. Copy the BATRUN.EXE and the BATMENU.BAT it created to a directory containing several DOS programs. Next run BATMENU.BAT to select various programs.

I think you will find it works perfect in straight DOS, even from Windows MSDOS Command, but if you try it under DOSBOX it gets all muddled and fails to run the programs you select, or abort straightway when requested.

Gordon

Code:

WIDTH 80, 25: SCREEN 0
     FILES "*.EXE"
     PRINT : INPUT "Enter Filname to run or nothing to abort"; FILE$
     OPEN "BATMENU.BAT" FOR OUTPUT AS #1
     PRINT #1, ":START"
     PRINT #1, "BATRUN"
     IF FILE$ = "" THEN GOTO DONE
     PRINT #1, FILE$
     PRINT #1, "PAUSE"
     PRINT #1, "GOTO START"
DONE:
     CLOSE : SYSTEM

[na_th_an]

[...] But here is a little program that demonstrates well a bug I find in the otherwise excellent DOSBOX[...]

You can help the developers of DosBox if you email them describing this bug

[GordonSweet]

Thanks Nathan,

I have sent the details as suggested.

Gordon

[GordonSweet]

There is of course another way to overcome the current bug in DOSBOX that prevents it allowing us to amend a BAT file currently in use, as shown in my previous post. The simple answer is below, where the menu program compiled with QuickBasic as M.EXE creates or alters a B.BAT file, which is then activated to run the selected program. ----------- Gordon

Code:

REM allows DOSBOX to run an exe file from B.BAT
     WIDTH 80, 25: SCREEN 0
     FILES "*.EXE"
     PRINT : INPUT "Enter Filname to run or nothing to abort"; FILE$
     OPEN "B.BAT" FOR OUTPUT AS #1
     IF FILE$ = "" THEN GOTO DONE
     PRINT #1, FILE$
     PRINT #1, "PAUSE  *** Enter M to run the Menu ***"
DONE:
     WIDTH 80, 25: CLS : SCREEN 0
     COLOR 14, 1: LOCATE 10, 22:
     PRINT " Enter B to run the selected program. "
     COLOR 7, 0: SLEEP 2: SYSTEM
     CLOSE : SYSTEM

[NotTheCHEAT]

Being 14, I suppose you would consider me younger. However, since I never program except for DOS (Windows is so complicated) I have used batch files since I was 12 or so.