In DOS, OS/2, and also Microsoft Windows, batch file is the name given to a type of script file, a text file containing a series of commands to be executed by the command interpreter.
A batch file may contain any command the interpreter accepts interactively at the command prompt. A batch file may also have constructs ( IF, GOTO, Labels, CALL, etc.) that enable conditional branching and looping within the batch file.
Similar to job control language and other systems on mainframe and minicomputer systems, batch files were added to ease the work required for certain regular tasks by allowing the user to set up a script to automate them. 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. Unix-like operating systems (such as Linux) have a similar type of file called a shell script.
The filename extension .bat was used in DOS, and the Windows 9x family of operating systems. The Microsoft Windows NT-family of operating systems and OS/2 added .cmd. Batch files for other environments may have different extensions, e.g. .btm in 4DOS and 4NT related shells.
There have been changes to the detailed handling of batch files; some of the detail in this article is applicable to all batch files, while other details apply only to certain versions.
Read more about Batch File: Filename Extensions, Example, Other Windows Scripting Languages
Famous quotes containing the words batch and/or file:
“Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 5:6.
“While waiting to get married, several forms of employment were acceptable. Teaching kindergarten was for those girls who stayed in school four years. The rest were secretaries, typists, file clerks, or receptionists in insurance firms or banks, preferably those owned or run by the family, but respectable enough if the boss was an upstanding Christian member of the community.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)