Batch File Programming
| Field | Computer programming |
| Went Obsolete | ca. 1998 |
| Made Obsolete By | Windows InstallShield? |
| Knowledge Assumed | MS-DOS command shell |
| When useful | To reinstall or uninstall simple programs without using a GUI |
Software could be installed and configured by running a simple INSTALL.BAT batch file at the MS-DOS command line prompt. Such a batch file was typically provided on a floppy disk?, back in the days when a program could fit on only a few floppies.
An install batch file typically assumed that target installation directory resided on the C: drive, which caused problems when multiple-drive systems became practical.
The title of this is misleading.
Windows and DOS batch file programming might be obsolete. It was never a good system anyway.
But on systems which actually have good batch systems like VMS, MVS, or UNIX, the need for this skill is still present, and in the case of UNIX at least, increasing.