CODEWITHSUNDEEP
batch-file
Shocked Coder
Shocked Coder

Reputation: 9

What does =< mean in a batch file after SET /P and variable name?

So my friend gave me a batch file he wanted me to check if everything is correct, but I've got no clue what =< does in this.

:artthou_54
mode 50,20
cls
set videopath=0
title Art thou sure?
set /p videopath=<\DataTron\Ainstro\YePathToVido.dat
if %videopath%=="" echo Video Path = %videopath%
if %videopath%=="C:\Vodie" echo It seems you have the same path as the creator
set /p videopath="Would you like to open %VideoPath%? (Y/N): "
mode 50,20
if %videopath%==Y goto videohole-b
if %videopath%==N goto videohole
if %videopath%==y goto videohole-b
if %videopath%==n goto videohole
if %videopath%==back goto videohole-c
if %videopath%==exit exit
goto Art-thou-unsure

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1303

Answers (1)

SomethingDark
SomethingDark

Reputation: 14315

That line sets the first line of YePathToVido.dat to the variable videopath.

Normally, set /p gets input from the user and reads in until it receives a CRLF.
However, < redirects input from the specified file and sends it to the set /p command. Since set /p reads until it receives a CRLF, this effectively tells the command to read from the start of the file until the end of the first line.
On a side note, those first two if statements are incorrect because batch compares everything on both sides of the ==, including the quotes. Those lines need to change to if "%videopath%"=="" and if "%videopath%"=="C:\Vodie", respectively.

Upvotes: 3

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