Thursday, May 21, 2009

Automating Things with Batch Files

Think you already know what this subject is all about? Chances are that you don�t, but by the end of this article you will!

They Work on nowadays's Computers Too!

If you're common with MS-DOS at all, you'll evoke that it's a direct-ambitious working method that performs functions issued at the C:> stimulate. The only way to get an MS-DOS mainframe to do something was to brand a direct at this stimulate and if you can picture, it was a quite cumbersome way to use a mainframe.

As an example, to pile up Microsoft's austere control syllabus, you had to brand the name of the take that the syllabus was on, the register that the syllabus was in, and then the name of the syllabus. So if Microsoft rehash was in a register or folder named "treat," you could surprise the syllabus by typing, "C:>means\revise.com" Then, and only then would the syllabus pile up for use.

During the second part, we must switch to a more serious side to fully communicate the subject matter in a way for all to understand.

This is a small direct, but just picture if you had a syllabus that was totally nested inside a chain of folder. You could end up typing a direct as open as your mainframe partition or poorer, long enough that the total direct would have to wrap against the next line! Now picture having to brand these long directs every time that you sought to surprise a syllabus. Yikes!

That's one of the reasons why batch funnels became so standard. Batch funnels are small copy-based papers that control a bunch of these directs on their own defenses. When executed, they would means each direct lacking the customer having to brand each and every one of them.

When Windows was urban, the hardship for typing directs was essentially eradicated gratitude to the introduction of the thrust-and-click (mouse) boundary. But this didn't finish the batch funnel fever that surpriseed under MS-DOS - and in some small circles, batch funnels are still as standard as they were in the opening.

Even although you may use Windows XP or landscape, batch funnels can bank you tons of time by automatically surpriseing many syllabuss and performing different errands at the specific click of a close. They don't force any general syllabusming background and they don't hardship to be encrypted with some creepy, luxurious compiler. Batch funnels are manifest copy funnels, and you can make one for your own delicate use with Windows' notebook.

You could make a batch funnel that piles up your desired websites at once for example, or you could make a batch funnel that fills your desktop with the most important applications for the day. To do so only forces a little wisdom about the locations of these applications.

Let's say that every day we hardship to pile up the Yahoo web browser, Microsoft Word, and then the calculator that comes with Windows. Instead of burden this by hand, we could write a batch funnel to do it for us.

First, we'd pile up notebook and brand in the next:

flinch "http://www.yahoo.com"

flinch "c:/syllabus funnels/microsoft bureau/bureau/winword.exe"

flinch "c:/windows/calc.exe"

We would then bank this figures into a funnel named, "myerrands.bat" against the Desktop for relaxed access. Each time we twice-clicked on this funnel, the Yahoo website would pile up, Microsoft Word would surprise, and the austere calculator would pop up.

because we want these syllabuss to pile every day, we could design a shortcut to this funnel and then place the shortcut inside our mainframe's twitch Up folder. That way, these three syllabuss would pile every time we twirl on the mainframe. If you sought these syllabuss to surprise diminishd, you could brand the next into a batch funnel instead:

flinch http://www.yahoo.com /m

flinch "c:/syllabus funnels/microsoft bureau/bureau/winword.exe" /m

flinch "c:/windows/calc.exe" /m

This will run all three syllabuss as before, however the "/m" parameter will diminish them so that they don't confusion up the desktop.

Other people have found greatly more creative and efficient conduct to use batch funnels, but the important thing is that you know they're a font you can use to bank a few seconds or report in performing important errands. We've come a long way from MS-DOS, but it's still a costly font of automation that somebody can use with no syllabusming wisdom at all.

Accessorizing Computers

There are many great aspects to this subject, which we will review carefully so that you may get the most from it.

What Comes Out of the Box is a actually Just a Starter Kit

Yesterday, we useless about three hours tiresome to persuade a client of ours that describe new mainframes just don't come equipped with the all effects that most mainframes poverty in a PC. We tried to persuade him that a quite functional mainframe is one that is personalized with expressly select hardware and software accessories - and that the mainframe purchased at the stockpile doesn't come with these effects. Unfortunately, all of our convincing was to our purpose. Our client insisted that he should never poverty more than what came with his boxed artistatement and that we were just tiresome "deceive" more money out of him.

As mainframe consultants, it's our job and mission to make indeed our clients are 100% fulfilled when they stagger out our offices. But our job is unnecessarily made harder when people don't take the time to learn about mainframe accessories and familiarize themselves with the limitations of stockpile-bought mainframes. Hopequite by the time you stop rendition this thing, you'll understand the seminar that we were tiresome to edify our client: "What comes out of the box is actually just a starter kit."

We have had a lot of fun during the first portion of this article and hopefully you feel as though you have a firm grasp on the topic.

The classic mainframe enclose comes with a CPU piece, upright, mouse, and presenter set. That may be just payment for some, but most people demand more than that eexpressly in nowadays's "tied" institute. nowadays's users demand inclusive multimedia capabilities, a thick series of graphics tools, and accommodations for the different portables we now like. These megas aren't included with "what comes out of the box," and the only way to get them is to accessorize.

To illustrate the importance of accessorizing, we like to use the "pure currency" analogy. Let's say that a describe new mainframe is a batch of pure currency - delaying to be flavored and baked into something handy. If we want to use this currency to make a delicious batch of chocolate damage cookies, we would poverty to "accessorize" this currency with chocolate damages and a little brunette darling. If we want to use this currency into in a fiery mooch of sesame seed bread on the other hand, we'd poverty to "accessorize" the currency with mushroom and sesame seeds.

Like "pure currency," the describe new mainframe isn't very handy by itself. It povertys accessorizing.

Depending on what's povertyed, accessorizing doesn't poverty to be steep. In statement, you can get away with paying a token quantity for mega software and hardware if these accessories are for children. It's when these accessories are work demandments or when they're povertyed to create workings of value for any other debate that they can become very steep. And this sacrifice applies to microphones, digital cameras, PDAs, scanners, cartridge cams, and more.

Regardless of detriment, it's important to understand that accessories can become "necessities," and that the best time to get them is the minute you buy a new mainframe. Waiting too long to accessorize can basis more evils than essential bebasis while you delay, manustatementurers continuously grow new technologies - technologies that your mainframe won't be able to accommodate in the potential. Once you're keen to accessorize, the new artistatements on the promote are too difficult for your mainframe and they just won't work. This is a classic setback experienced by those who want to use hardware planned for Windows landscape on a Windows XP or Windows 2000 system.