From: gazelle@shell.xmission.com   
      
   In article ,   
   JJ   wrote:   
   ...   
   >DOS programs sometimes go wonky when run in a console window which was   
   >created by a Windows program. The problem is related to switching from   
   >Windows to DOS environment, then back to Windows environment again. FYI,   
   >console window created by DOS and Windows programs, has different set of   
   >rules, limitations, and behaviours. In short, it can be glitchy when mixing   
   >console Windows programs with DOS programs.   
   >   
   >If you want Windows version of the CHOICE tool, you can get it from Windows   
   >XP Resource Kit; or from Windows 2003; or from 64-bit version of Windows XP   
   >(get the 32-bit version of the tool). Those Windows can be found in   
   >archive.org, but the XP Resource Kit is hard to find.   
      
   (Much more useful info - snipped for this post)   
      
   Thanks for all the info.  A bit of a history lesson.   
      
   Anyway, and FWIW, and all that, in the end, I ended up going with an old   
   program I'd originally written decades ago for Unix/Linux/POSIX (whatever   
   and whichever name you prefer), called "pause", that basically implements   
   for Unix, the functionality of "pause" under DOS/Windows/NT/etc.  I know   
   how to do the "don't wait for enter" thing in Unix, but not in DOS/Windows,   
   so it was easiest for me to do it that way.   
      
   I don't think that my "pause" program would compile under a "generic"   
   Windows C compiler, since it uses POSIX stuff to handle the terminal.  As a   
   result, the hardest part of the project was getting a working version of   
   Cygwin for XP, so that I could compile it under Cygwin.  The Cygwin project   
   has gone all 64 bit nowadays; they've completely abandoned the 32 bit   
   world.  However, if you Google "Cygwin for Windows XP", you'll get the   
   info; you need to go to a site (archive) called "fruitbat" to get the   
   stuff.  But, it actually isn't "fruitbat" anymore; you have to go to   
   something like "crouchingtiger_fruitbat".  But once you have the right   
   sites, it all works perfectly.   
      
   Be aware that GCC is not in the default software load, so be sure to "tick   
   the box" for GCC, or you won't get it.  I had to re-run setup to get GCC.   
   Also, don't forget the "-X" option on "setup.exe".   
      
   So, in case anyone is interested in any of this, I have put the "pause"   
   source code as well as an EXE and the needed Cygwin DLL here:   
      
       http://shell.xmission.com:65401/pause.zip   
      
   Note that this "pause" does pretty much everything that CHOICE does (*),   
   except for the "only accept these keys" part.  I could easily hack that   
   into the C source if I needed it (so far, the need has not arisen).   
      
   (*) Actually, the default model is slightly different.  It is "press any   
   key other than escape to continue".  Pressing Escape generates an error   
   return (errorlevel != 0); any other key returns success.   
      
   --   
   A racist, a Nazi, and a Klansman walk into a bar...   
      
   Bartender says, "What will it be, Mr. Trump?"   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)