Batch file how many arguments

Tokenization Tokenization of the command line arguments is not always done by the cmd. Most often the tokenization is done by the newly formed processes' runtime, at the OS level, Windows passes a command line untokenized as a single string to the new process. In addition to passing numeric or string values on the command line, it is also possible to pass a variable name and then use the variable to transfer data between scripts or subroutines.

The expansion of a file attribute produces a series of 9 dashes, with each recognized attribute replacing a dash with a letter. A file with no recognized attributes or with none set will expand to 9 dashes like this: In any programming language, there is an option to mark variables as having some sort of scope, i.

Normally, variable having a global scope can be accessed anywhere from a program whereas local scoped variables have a defined boundary in which they can be accessed. DOS scripting also has a definition for locally and globally scoped variables. By default, variables are global to your entire command prompt session.

The following example shows the difference when local and global variables are set in the script. Dean Povey Dean Povey 8, 1 1 gold badge 38 38 silver badges 49 49 bronze badges. You can still use shift to count more than The function :getargc below may be what you're looking for. It also uses a nifty trick, passing the name of the return variable to be set by the function.

David David 97 1 1 silver badge 1 1 bronze badge. Kasimir Kasimir 11 3 3 bronze badges. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google.

Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. The Overflow Blog. Podcast Explaining the semiconductor shortage, and how it might end. Does ES6 make JavaScript frameworks obsolete? Featured on Meta. I have used it since before Windows. If you like seeing the names of the files, as they are being copied, leave out the Q parameter. A friend was asking me about this subject recently, so I thought I'd post how I handle command-line arguments in batch files.

This technique has a bit of overhead as you'll see, but it makes my batch files very easy to understand and quick to implement. As well as supporting the following structures:. The jist of it is having the :init , :parse , and :main functions. It won't modify the original parameters because the function is being call ed with a copy of the original parameters.

Inspired by an answer elsewhere by Jon, I have crafted a more general algorithm for extracting named parameters, optional values, and switches. Let us say that we want to implement a utility foobar.

It requires an initial command. It has an optional parameter --foo which takes an optional value which cannot be another parameter, of course ; if the value is missing it defaults to default.

It also has an optional parameter --bar which takes a required value. Lastly it can take a flag --baz with no value allowed. Oh, and these parameters can come in any order. Everyone has answered with really complex responses, however it is actually really simple. This can be very useful for certain variables in a script, such as a name and age.

So, if I have a script like this:. Then place the batch file in, let's say, the system32 folder, go to your Java class file, right click, Properties, Open with Its not just simple to write but its simple to maintain as well so if later some other person or you read your script after long period of time, it will be easy to understand and maintain. You can also set some environment variables in advance. It can be done by setting them in the console or setting them from my computer :.

Of course you can combine all approaches. Check also arguments syntax , shift. The number of args that can be supplied is limited to total characters on command line. To overcome this limitation, the previous paragraph trick is a workaround without risking exposure of user passwords. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Collectives on Stack Overflow.

Learn more. How can I pass arguments to a batch file? Ask Question. Asked 13 years, 2 months ago. Active 2 months ago.