#171 Special file NUL is missing

[Jan Bruun Andersen]

I have a DOS batch script that checks if a directory
exist using the construct:

if not exist C:\Path\to\Dir\NUL echo Errror - missing
dir.

It seems like DOSBox 0.61 does not provide the special
file NUL, since the condition is always false.
--
Jan Bruun Andersen / MiniMax

[Qbix]

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Interresting I never knew it existed in the first place :)

Isn't that hard to add.

[Javier Juan]

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In fact, there are others special files than NUL. (Fast
remembering...):

con -> Keyboard input only.
nul -> nul file.
aux -> Assigned sometime to COM ports or other ports.
prn -> Printer port, normally LPT1...

And this special files are present normally (on msdos) as
files existing in all directories. The nul file works as
/dev/null in UNIX,
and some games don't works if it don't exists (Many old
Borland-compiled games without debug information stripped
sends debug information to nul, crashing DOSBox)

[Jan Bruun Andersen]

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Thanks QBix,

You have to be aware of a slight quirck with those special
files. The are more like special devices, e.g. they should
really be called CON:, NUL:, AUX: and PRN:.

So the command 'COPY FILE.TXT C:\TEMP\NUL:' and 'COPY
FILE.TXT C:\NUL' will both succeed.

But 'IF EXIST C:\TEMP\NUL: ECHO YES' will fail!!! Don't
know why, but that's how it is.

[Jan Bruun Andersen]

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FYI: http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?p=31731#31731

Seems someone has already been tinkering with this.

[Qbix]

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The file nul has been added. This enabled BC3000AD to start up

Constructions like if exist nul don't work though as our
find routines don't look for devices.

[Qbix]

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I added searching for devices for the find routines as well. This bug should now be fully fixed.