Using the Command Line Effectively



Understanding Why the Command Line Is So Important



Considering the Methods Available for Working at the Command Line



Viewing the Commands by Purpose



Updating Your Current Utilities at the Microsoft Download Center



Configuring the Command Window



Understanding Internal Commands
At one time, everyone worked at the command line. In fact, when you started the computer, you saw
a command prompt and you never really left it the entire time you worked with the computer. I'm
dating myself, of course, because no one's worked exclusively at the command line for many years.
The days of DOS are gone and the command line is seemingly gone with it--or is it? The command
line still exists and you can use it to make your life easier. In addition, working at the command line
can help you automate tasks and work considerably faster. A good understanding of the command
line can even help you work with fewer errors because most command line applications work or they
aren't based on the input you provide. Of course, this begs the question of why people aren't using
the command line if it's so great. This chapter answers that question; it helps you understand why the
command line has fallen out of favor and why you should consider making it part of your life again.
Working at the command line doesn't mean that you have to perform tasks manually or mem-
orize arcane syntax. It's true that you had to do that in the past to an extent, but even in the past,
people created batch files so all they needed to remember was the batch file name and not the dif-
ficult series of command line switches for executing a command. Windows makes working at the
command line a lot easier. You can even automate tasks so that you never actually go to the com-
mand line; you can tell Windows to perform all of that work for you. Consequently, working at the
command line could mean putting a batch file together and then telling Windows to execute it for
you. Working at the command line need not be time consuming or difficult.
Something to consider about the command line is that it contains a lot more than you might
think. Many savvy administrators and power users know that Windows provides a number of
command line utilities. However, few people realize just how many utilities there are. Would
you believe that this book discusses 280 command line utilities of various types? In fact, after per-
forming the research for this book, I concluded that many of the most interesting Windows fea-
tures aren't in the Graphical User Interface (GUI), they're at the command line. By the time you
finish this book, you'll have gained an understanding of just how capable Windows is at the com-
mand line.