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Number   :  87
Date     :  2001-05-18
Author   :  Kan Yabumoto
Subject  :  Re: /WD Quiz answer
Size(KB) :  2


At 2001-05-18 00:32, you wrote:
>Hi Kan,
>
>I'm glad I did well on the quiz! And by the way, I never could figure out
>why the letter /I was chosen to suppress the "file or directory" prompt in
>XCOPY. But now because of XXCOPY I know that /I stands for Initialize
>Directory and I can remember the darn thing. :)

I'm guessing that you are right. If we mentioned that /I stands for
Initialize Directory, it is our guess, not our invention. Please remember,
many switch mnemonics (mostly the one-letter switches) are not our making,
but inherited from Microsoft's XCOPY.

For the following switches, the credit goes to Microsoft, not us.

/A select files with A-bit set
/M same as /A plus, the A-bit will be cleared after copy
/D:da select files which were made after :da
/P prompt before copy
/S copy subdirectory also
/E /S and empty directory also
/W wait for a key press at first
/C continue after an error
/I initialize (create if absent) the target directory
/Q quiet
/F full source and destination filenames diplayed
/L list only
/H hidden files included
/R read-only files overwritten
/T create tree (without files but directories only)
/U update files (select only those files that are present in src and dst)
/K keep the attribute bits
/Y yes, overwrite ok
/N copy using short names

The mnemonic is our interpretation. Microsoft never bothered to document
the motivation for the letter selection.

Those who have been with us for a long time recall that the new /N switch
introduced by Microsoft in the recent versions of XCOPY forced our own
version of the then, /N switch to be re-assigned to /NX. Even in the
future, when Microsoft add some more switches, it would have a
disruptive consequence on our XXCOPY. This is crazy.

But, we will take whatever crazy thing from Microsoft. We believe that
XCOPY-compatibility a very high priority in our XXCOPY design. It is
easily justified and understood by anyone.

Just imagine we introduce a new version of XXCOPY as a totally new
file manager product and call it NEWCOPY.EXE and reshuffle the command
switch to be more logically organized set (in order to make it easier
to memorize). Who would attempt to remember a new set of command
switches from ground up? The XXCOPY's core users are those who have
been using XCOPY since DOS 2.0 was introduced back in 1982.

Although these XCOPY-compatible switches are now a small portion of
XXCOPY's arsenal, the forgiving learning curve for a new user allows
the user to learn the new commands at his own pace. The fact XXCOPY
is usable from the moment the download is complete is an irresistible
asset. That's why we need to mimic much of XCOPY's awkward features.









Kan Yabumoto

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