©1995 Microsoft® Windows95®
Command-Line Commands Summary
Command Syntax
Syntax is the order in which you must type a command and the
elements that follow the command. Commands have up to four
elements: command name, parameters, switches, and values. In
the following illustration, the first example lists all hidden
files in the C:\LETTERS directory. The second example allows up
to 10 users to connect to the C:\USERS\PUBLIC directory.
Command Switch * Command Switch
| | * | |
--- ---- * --------- ------
dir c:\letters /a:h * net share public=c:\users\public /users:10
---------- * ---------------------- ---
| * | |
Parameter * Parameter Value
Besides these four elements, command symbols can be used to
direct the output. Each element is explained below.
Command Name.
States the action you want Windows 95 to carry out. Some
commands (such as the cls command, which clears the screen)
consist only of a command name. Most commands require more
than a name. For all network commands, type net followed by a
space and the command name, as in the following:
net config
Parameter.
Defines or creates the object you want Windows 95 to act on.
Windows 95 sometimes requires additional information, which you
specify in one or more parameters after the command name. For
example, the del command requires a parameter that is the name
of the file you want to delete. Some commands require more than
one parameter. For example, to rename a file by using the
rename (ren) command, you must include the original name of the
file in addition to the new name. The following command renames
LETTER.TXT to MEMO.TXT:
ren letter.txt memo.txt
Caution Some commands accept semicolons to separate parameters.
For example, if you wanted to delete all files on drive A and
typed del a;\*.* by mistake, Windows 95 would erase the file A
in the current directory and all files in the root directory of
the current drive.
Position in the syntax line determines how a command works and
whether a parameter is a source (first) or a destination
(second). In the example above, the source, LETTER.TXT,
specifies the location of data to be transferred or used as
input to a command. The destination, MEMO.TXT, specifies a
location to which the data specified by source is to be
transferred.
Switches.
Modify how a command performs a task. A switch is a forward
slash (/) or a hyphen (-), usually followed by words, letters,
or numbers. Some commands do not have switches, whereas others
have several. If a command has more than one switch, you type
them one after the other, separated with a space. Switches can
be in any position or order after the command name. Some
commands accept more than one switch after a forward slash.
Other commands, such as TCP/IP utilities, accept a hyphen (-)
instead of the forward slash.
Tip The terms "parameter" and "switch" are often interchanged,
since both elements follow the command name. The only meaningful
difference between a switch and parameter is the presence of a
forward slash or hyphen to indicate a switch and the parameter
position in the syntax line to indicate whether the parameter is
a source or a destination. The term "argument" is also used to
refer to parameters or switches.
With some network commands for real-mode networking, a prompt
appears that requires a user response before a task can be
completed. To force a Yes or No answer for all responses, append
the /yes (/y) or /no (/n) switch to a command. For example,
stopping the workstation service when working in Command Prompt
Only mode causes Windows 95 to stop dependent services; Windows
95 prompts you before stopping each dependent service unless the
/yes switch is included, as in the following:
net stop workstation /y
Value.
Determines how a switch works. A value is a colon (:) or an
equal sign (=), followed by a word, letter, or number and must
immediately follow the switch it modifies without a space. The
following example of the format command contains two values --
the file system to use (VFAT in the following example) and a
volume label (Backup2):
format d: /f:1.2 /v:backup2
Check the syntax for the specific command in online Help to
determine whether the command you want to use requires an equal
sign or a colon.
Command symbols.
Direct the input or output of a command and permit conditional
execution of a command. Used with commands and filter commands,
the command symbols are powerful tools.
Symbol Purpose
> Redirects output.
>> Appends redirected output to existing data.
< Redirects input.
| Pipes output.
Sort, more, and find are the built-in filter commands that work
in the same way as command symbols, to allow you to sort input
and output, cause output to the screen to be displayed one screen
at a time, and search for specified text in a file.
(
geocities.com/siliconvalley/pines) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley)