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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Philip Taylor wrote:<br>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:2311b998-e2e2-f262-813b-e6c84ff7ed4e@Rhul.Ac.Uk">
With the greatest respect, Siep, "sense" would indicate exactly the opposite — one would
<i>expect</i> an executable image to honour parameters , while equally expecting a batch file to ignore them.
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But it turns out that things are even more complex. Let there be, in a given directory, "install-tl-windows.exe", "install-tl-windows.bat", & "install-tl-windows.cmd". Then what should a user expect if he or she types :<br>
<ul>
<li>install-tl-windows -select-repository </li></ul>
<p>The answer, it transpires, depends on the current value of his/her "PATHEXT" environment variable. Mine is set to :<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC</li></ul>
<p>so in my case, "install-tl-windows -select-repository" selects the executable image and the "-select-repository" qualifier is ignored. Another user might have (for example) :<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>PATHEXT=.BAT;.CMD;.COM;.EXE;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC</li></ul>
<p>and so if he/she were to type :<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>install-tl-windows -select-repository</li></ul>
<p>his/her "-select-repository" qualifier would be honoured and he/she would be offered the choice of installing from a local repository. Given the enormous uncertainty as to the actual effect of
<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>install-tl-windows -select-repository</li></ul>
<p>in any given situation, I now believe more strongly than ever that having "install-tl-windows.exe" & "install-tl-windows.bat" in the same directory is sheer folly.</p>
<p>** Phil.<br>
-- <br>
<i>Philip Taylor</i><br>
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