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For Automated Testing, Better Alternatives To DOS Batch Files?
An anonymous reader writes "I am working on a project that would allow our customers to test out sending different PCL commands to LAN printers. My initial thought was that a DOS batch file will allow users to select some simple options, send the tests to printers, and even generate a small web page which, when launched from the batch file, will provide email feedback on the tool. This all worked. To spice it up I added some ANSI color commands to the menus, though the implementation of that may prove tricky without resorting to .COM files or forcing the load of the ansi.sys via the command.com shortcut. And this implementation goes against my initial idea that I want the entire thing to be contained in a standalone batch file. My questions are: Is there a better option for this? Are DOS Batch files too 1990s to be taken seriously in 2010? The application needs to (1) be simple (2) be easy to update (3) be able to send PCL commands to LAN-attached printers and (4) allow email feedback. I don't know what other programming language would allow this and be as simple. I tend to think that I have found the best tool for the job but if you have another idea let me know. Call me crazy but I love DOS."
I'll second this one. The place that I work runs almost all of its commands via bat jobs that run from simple to complex. When I started here, I installed Strawberry Perl on my win32 system. I have, since, replaced every functionality that the bat jobs used to do with perl scripts (primarily for my own purposes, but most of my coworkers don't mind them either). The primary reason I did this was readability. I can set up my perl scripts in such a manner that I can look at them a year later and know exactly what I did and how I did it. All I had to do was be a little disciplined about script formatting and variable names (it's really not that hard).
So far, I've gotten Strawberry perl to print to all of the printers on my network, run some old fortran programs successfully, update an in-house wiki automatically, automate e-mails to my co workers, and crash our entire network (that last one wasn't so much a feature, but hey, it shows just how powerful perl is). That said, I think with a bit of time and research you could probably get Strawberry perl to do exactly what you needed pretty easily. But I will warn you, when it comes to perl, I find that user experiences vary greatly.
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"If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid."
There are plenty of doges you can use, perl, python, bash, and lots more. But all of them add a level of complexity to this that the batch file doesn't have. Which leads me to my second saying:
"If it's simple and it works, it's elegant."
Sounds like you've found an elegant solution to a problem. I'd stick with it if it works for you.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
PowerShell is the new Batch File Scripting, so if you need more power, learn PowerShell and use that. (I am assuming you're in a Windows environment where change of OS isn't an option.)
But DOS batch files still work just fine. In my last job at $major-hardware-vendor, we used DOS batch file-based menus all the time; because they were simple, they got the job done, and all the people who had any need to maintain them knew all about them. Some were particularly large/gnarly batch files, too. (Think 3 KB of one single .bat file menuing to do a few dozen tasks.) When choice is used liberally, along with variables, you can make it very simple to maintain, too. (We used it for updating various things, and the very first section was where all the variables were set, all you had to do when it came time to update was throw the updated file in the right place, and change a number in the batch file.)
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
It is important to know your alternatives (e.g. you have many scripting options through cygwin, python, perl), but:
Use whatever works for you, and don't be ashamed just because it is not the current trend. You know your requirements (easy to maintain). Don't believe the people that say you have to rewrite everything.
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.