MS-DOS command.com changes drive for any path ending in backslash used as a command

[ecm-pushbx]

Anything that looks like a directory/pathname with a trailing slash is used to change the current drive in MS-DOS command.com. I know this is true of MS-DOS v7.10 and it also appears to be true for the current lMS-DOS command.com (based on MS-DOS v4.01 with minor changes). The pathname need not correspond to an existing directory. Test case:

 Microsoft(R) MS-DOS(R) Version 4.01
              (C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1981-1988                                
 A>c:

 C>a:                                                                              
 A>c:\foo
 Bad command or file name                                                          
 A>c:\foo\                                                                         
 C>dir

  Volume in drive C is HDA1_CCC
  Volume Serial Number is 0000-0000
  Directory of  C:\

 HDA1_CCC ID          9
 PART     ID          9
         2 File(s)   19920384 bytes free

 C>

[andrewbird]

That's a really nasty behaviour. I understand the desire for compatibility, but would you really want to replicate that? I'd sooner it return 'Bad command or file name' too. I'm not a recent DOS user, but I can't imagine it being relied upon in scripts.

[ecm-pushbx]

I did actually rely on it in scripts back in the day, to restore both the current drive and the current directory given only a pathname in a variable.