In DOS, OS/2, and Microsoft Windows, a batch file is a text file containing a series of commands intended to be executed by the command interpreter. When a batch file is run, the shell program (usually COMMAND.COM or cmd.exe) reads the file and executes its commands, normally line-by-line. Batch files are useful for running a sequence of executables automatically and are often used by system administrators to automate tedious processes. Unix-like...
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In DOS, OS/2, and Microsoft Windows, a batch file is a text file containing a series of commands intended to be executed by the command interpreter. When a batch file is run, the shell program (usually COMMAND.COM or cmd.exe) reads the file and executes its commands, normally line-by-line. Batch files are useful for running a sequence of executables automatically and are often used by system administrators to automate tedious processes. Unix-like operating systems (such as Linux) have a similar type of file called a shell script.
DOS batch files have the filename extension .bat. Batch files for other environments may have different extensions, e.g. .cmd or .bat in the Microsoft Windows NT-family of operating systems and OS/2, or .btm in 4DOS and 4NT related shells. The now-obsolete Windows 9x family of operating systems only recognize the .bat and .btm extension.
Originally command interpreters' primary responsibility was to execute out commands entered manually. Such commands might...
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