TheGuardBook(tm) - Online Reference for Cross-Platform Shell Scripting (NT/2K/XP/K3)

There are two key requirements that enable a command script to be run seamlessly across multiple platforms.

1. Define a set of commands that are available across all target platforms (i.e., a Common Command Set).
2. Use only commands from the Common Command Set in your scripts.

Of course, this is (much) easier said than done.

What's a Command Set?

A Command Set is a group of commands that are available in a certain context.  For example, two Common Command Sets (internal and external) are available in all installations of Windows NT based systems (this includes NT4 SP6a, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003).  Any scripts written using only these commands commands will PERFORM CONSISTENTLY on any of those platforms.

However...each platform has it's own "irregularities" that make the "common commands" behave differently depending upon the OS, the Service Pack level, and (at least it seems so) the wind speed and direction at the time the script is running.

This erratic behavior accounts for much of the Fuming part of our KnowledgeLetter, BoomingOrFuming?

Mastering these differences is the Booming part.

What are .Mount/\Commands?

The Mt/\Cmd Command Set extends the two common command sets with over 300 new commands.  And .Mt/\Cmds are self-adjusting so they work CONSISTENTLY across all supported platforms and configurations!  This means that a script written ONCE using MountCommands will always do EXACTLY THE SAME THING regardless of which OS the server or client is running, and WITHOUT adding any additional software to that machine beyond what is already present in a standard installation!

Now that's what we call Booming!

For more details, see MountCommands.com.

Default Installations

When we refer to a default installation, we are referring to Group I Platforms installed per Microsoft defaults.  Some resources will be unavailable unless there is also at least one ethernet network card present with the TCPIP protocol installed.