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Consider the following commands given from a cmd prompt:

D:\test>cd D:/

D:\>cd /test

D:\test>pushd D:/
The syntax of the command is incorrect.

D:\test>pushd "D:/"

D:\>popd

D:\test>cd ..

D:\>pushd /test
The syntax of the command is incorrect.

D:\>pushd "/test"
The syntax of the command is incorrect.

D:\>pushd "D:/test"

D:\test>

It seems that cd process correctly slashes / in general, while pushd only accepts them only if at the same time:

  • The argument is quoted
  • The full path is given

Does this correspond to truth? Is it documented anywhere?

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5
  • The funny thing is that changing to the /? directory using cd /? can give you some help with the cd command
    – infixed
    Apr 1, 2016 at 13:07
  • @infixed Yep! :) And you cannot change to a hypothetical folder named D by doing cd /D as that is a valid cd option.
    – Antonio
    Apr 1, 2016 at 13:12
  • It looks like you are using the cmd shell in Microsoft's Windows, therefore you have to put the slash the wrong way around. (This is because of a historical accident, there the slash was used to give options. It seemed like a good idea at the time, as Microsoft had not heard of directories at this time, (or of windowing systems, or networks)).
    – ctrl-alt-delor
    Apr 1, 2016 at 21:22
  • Windows doesn’t really do forward slashes. They’re traditionally used to indicate switches on the command line. So while your question might be academically interesting, it’s not really about a problem.
    – Daniel B
    Apr 1, 2016 at 21:25
  • @DanielB I wonder then why they didn't simply implement functions to give error in case / was used (without a valid option). My use case concerns paths generated by cmake to be used in a configure file generating a batch script.
    – Antonio
    Apr 1, 2016 at 22:56

1 Answer 1

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Read MSDN article Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces:

Naming Conventions The following fundamental rules enable applications to create and process valid names for files and directories, regardless of the file system:

  • Use a period to separate the base file name from the extension in the name of a directory or file.
  • Use a backslash (\) to separate the components of a path. The backslash divides the file name from the path to it, and one directory name from another directory name in a path. You cannot use a backslash in the name for the actual file or directory because it is a reserved character that separates the names into components.
  • Use a backslash as required as part of volume names, for example, the "C:\" in "C:\path\file" or the "\\server\share" in "\\server\share\path\file" for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) names. For more information about UNC names, see the Maximum Path Length Limitation section.
  • …

More reading on (\)/ (reverse) solidus: Why does Windows use backslashes for paths and Unix forward slashes?

In the command interpreter (cmd.exe), you can use / as a separator of path components in many cases, but not always. Example:

==> d:\bat\so\second.bat a b c
second.bat parameters: %*=a b c

==> d:/bat/so/second.bat a b c
second.bat parameters: %*=a b c

==> type d:/bat/so/second.bat
The syntax of the command is incorrect.

==> type "d:/bat/so/second.bat"
The system cannot find the file specified.

==> type d:/bat/so\second.bat
The syntax of the command is incorrect.

==> type "d:/bat/so\second.bat"
@echo %~nx0 parameters: %%*=%*

==>

Another example:

==> dir d:/bat/so/second.bat
Parameter format not correct - "bat".

==> dir "d:/bat/so/second.bat"
 Volume in drive D is DataDisk
 Volume Serial Number is 4288-6B27

 Directory of d:\bat\so

File Not Found

==> dir "d:/bat/so\second.bat"
 Volume in drive D is DataDisk
 Volume Serial Number is 4288-6B27

 Directory of d:\bat\so

27.11.2015  17:35                32 second.bat
               1 File(s)             32 bytes
               0 Dir(s)  910 153 654 272 bytes free

==>
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  • The last example is amazing! :)
    – Antonio
    Apr 1, 2016 at 22:57

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