Windows command line standards

The command should have a manpage which includes a full detailed reference of use, and -h --help should be just a summarized reference.

You may also include more comprehensive documentation tutorials, etc But the manpage should be there! I think embedded doc has it's places, especially for small user-level script, like what this user is proposing. Should he have to learn nroff and. But good to keep us honest, thanks for your comments and good luck to all. Personally, when I type someCommand --help at my shell, all I need is a small reminder of the precise order the arguments go in, not a giant swath of text that fills the screen, requiring I pipe it into less just to see all of it.

The manpage should be where you put the long detailed description, not the help text. Regarding tar Or are they just there to make our lives much easier? Having an agreed-upon way to represent options is useful not only for readers, but also e. GUIs that can control arbitrary command-line utilities and want to provide controls for setting their options.

There are probably better uses that I didn't consider yet. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. The Overflow Blog.

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Consistent command syntax 3. Common behaviors. Consistent error messages and exit codes. Schema-enhanced data-streams and formatting. This document builds upon the traditional command line compositional model. That traditional model had the following three characteristics:. The user composes a sequence of commands to implement a task or user-scenario.

If you create command-line tools that have these three characteristics, you will have achieved UNIX level interoperability. Building upon that, there are Enhanced and Optimal levels of interoperability. This document primarily focuses on the Optimal level of interoperability, but guidelines for Enhanced interoperability are available in Appendix H — Enhanced Interoperability Guidance. Enhanced interoperability provides a stepping stone for existing commands.

By default this control character is configured to be the tab key for both file and directory names, although they can be different. To change this control character, run regedit. Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system.

Before making the following changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer. Set these values to that of the control character you wish to use. See virtual key codes for a complete list. To disable a particular completion character in the registry, use the value for space 0x20 as it is not a valid control character. You can also enable or disable file and directory name completion per instance of a Command shell by running cmd. User-specified settings take precedence over computer settings, and command-line options take precedence over registry settings.

Also allows you to end sessions on servers. All Win md Creates a new directory on the specified path. You can also use the command to split the output of another command into pages. You can write the username into the command or create files in which usernames are saved. The files can then be included in the command with filename. XP path Creates and displays the path for searching executable files. The user is then prompted in a message to continue by pressing a key.

The command is mainly part of batch files and scripts. The device to be used for printing has to be specified. You can change to this directory with popd. This must not contain any files, even hidden ones. For example, you can run a command as an administrator from a normal user account as long as you know the password. The program searches data carriers for errors. You can create, delete, change, and display all scheduled tasks.

EXE and lets you configure them. All Win subst Assigns a drive letter to a path to create a virtual drive. The process ID also has to be specified, which is required for the taskkill command, for example.

The command Is used in batch files and scripts. Spaces are allowed, but not all special characters such as a slash, for example, because they may be interpreted as instructions for a parameter.

The command takes into account all subdirectories starting from the given path. You can use the asterisk as a wild card. After the command, changes are applied to the entire system again localization is started with setlocal. The program is part of Internet Explorer, but can also be used in the command prompt.

This command is usually used in batch and script files. Usually used for batch and script files. Can be extended by not if commands are only not to be executed under certain conditions. The command can also change the names of directories. By default, the command overwrites other files with the same name when moving files to the destination. Directory and drive cannot be changed this way or use the rename command.

This is an extended version of copy and xcopy. There are a total of 72 parameters with which the copy command can be modified. After the command, changes only apply to these files localization is started with endlocal. DOS verify When enabled, checks whether files are written correctly on a data drive. The check is disabled in the standard settings. In this way, the command offers various additional options.

These can be recovered with restore replaced by msbackup. DOS bcdboot Creates and repairs start files. This sets access rights outdated — replaced by icacls in newer Windows versions. Is only available to support older DOS programs. An older version of the command is called dblspace. XP fdisk Creates, deletes, and manages partitions on the hard drive. Use diskpart in newer Windows versions. This sets access rights. An outdated version of this command is cacls.

All Win logman Creates and manages event trace sessions and performance logs. Use -on to encrypt a drive. Use -off to decrypt it again and end BitLocker protection. All Win mountvol Creates and deletes mount points for drives and displays them.

XP pkgmgr Installs, uninstalls, and configures packages and functions for Windows. Users can create new keys reg add or delete them reg delete. The files should be saved on a replacement drive. You can also use the rwinsta command.

DOS rwinsta Command has the same function as reset. Settings can also be configured, imported, and exported with this command. Incorrect versions are replaced by correct ones. This makes it bootable. The information can be obtained from the local system as well as a remote computer. These are virtual smartcards encrypted on the basis of the Trusted Platform Model.

DOS unlock Unlocks a drive that was locked with the lock command. DOS vssadmin Manages the volume shadow copy services that can be used to store different versions snapshots of drives. All Win winsat Evaluates various system factors — for example, processor performance or graphical capabilities. Various Windows settings can be changed here — both locally and on remote computers.

XP certreq Manages and creates certificate registration requirements for certification authorities. The command offers additional options: For example, you can activate debugging with -d. DOS intersvr Starts an interlnk server and transfers data from one computer to another via serial or parallel connection. XP irftp Transfers files via infrared connection, if one is available. Also enables the command to delete tickets purge. To use the command, enable NFS services.

You can also specify another DNS server. XP pathping Provides information on forwarding and package loss when sending over a network and also specifies the latency.

The duration of the echo can also be specified. Ping signals can be sent continuously with -t. All Win qappsrv Displays all available remote computers in the network. The result displays the programs on the remote computer to use the command, NFS services on Windows have to be enabled first.

These are unique identifiers for services on a network that uses Kerberos authentication. The user can also actively control the remote computer. To use the command, the TFTP client first needs to be enabled in the system settings. All packages have a set time-to-live TTL , which is increased gradually with the command.

All Win tscon Connects the current local user session with a session on a remote computer. If the target computer supports it, the entire computer can be turned off in this way. XP umount Removes mounted network file system drives.

To use the command, the NFS functions first have to be enabled in the system settings. Computers within a network are synchronized with one another through this command. These are forwarded from remote event sources that support the WS management protocol. If you want to disable encryption, use -un. Related Products. View packages. Build a real estate website With a real estate website, you can set yourself apart from the competition Handyman website With the right tools, a homepage for tradesmen can be created quickly and legally compliant Enter the web address of your choice in the search bar to check its availability.