On Thu, Aug 25, 2022 at 1:42 PM Robert Riebisch <[email protected]> wrote: > > Paul Dufresne wrote: > > I know some packages use "Links" to make executables in the > > executable %PATH% to make them callable from any directory. > > You're probably talking about the BAT and COM files in C:\FreeDOS\LINKS. > > > The question I ask myslf, is why is is the exception rather than the norm? > > Because probably nobody cared so far. And not everybody wants it that way. > > > Would it make it significantly slower? > > No. > > But it takes more space on disk, because every "link" occupies one > cluster on disk. Size of a cluster depends on HDD capacity and partition > type (FAT12, FAT16, FAT32). E.g., on a 2 GB FAT16 partition a cluster is > 32 KB large. B64.COM is only 76 bytes large, but takes 32 KB > nevertheless. On a 2 GB FAT32 partition a cluster is only 4 KB large, so > B64.COM would take 4 KB only. > > Default cluster size for NTFS, FAT, and exFAT > https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/default-cluster-size-for-ntfs-fat-and-exfat-9772e6f1-e31a-00d7-e18f-73169155af95 > > Not to forget: More links also means higher chance for a name conflict. >
I know this is an old topic (August 25) but I've been away from email for a while .. so here I am: I've never been a fan of the "LINKS" directory. I know it's useful for some people - so I guess it's good for them. But I remove that from my PATH when I install FreeDOS. As Robert says, more of these "links" in your PATH means a higher probability of name collision. When you type a command, FreeDOS COMMAND tries to match an alias and use that. If not found, FreeDOS (like any DOS) will look in the current directory for a matching executable program (COM, EXE, or BAT) and then search the PATH for a matching program. I prefer DOS to be simple, so I customize my FreeDOS system to have only C:\FREEDOS\BIN in the PATH by default. I keep it pretty minimal. I don't even add the compiler stuff in my PATH until I need it. For example, if I'm going to write programs, I run a SETENV batch file that adds the compiler's paths to my PATH and sets environment variables. But to each their own. If you like using links, then use the LINKS directory. _______________________________________________ Freedos-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
