Why batch files?
Batch files are native to DOS and Windows. They are interpreted by the default shell programs COMMAND.COM (W98) or CMD.COM (NT). These shell programs are frustratingly limited, and inconsistent between versions. In many cases, you may want to abandon batch files and use a Unix type shell instead, but if you know a few tricks you can do most scripting chores with batch files. You should also be aware of the win32 scripting languages available on typical PCs. These include Visual Basic Script, Java Script, WSH, Cscript, and in many cases Perl and Python.
