Utilities dealing with hosts files, WiFi, and system information

[YottaByte]

Utilities of a newbie.

Hello everyone!
Between 2016 and the present, I have developed some "utilities" in Batch and I would like to know the opinion of the DOSTips experts.
I have extracted parts of code from here and various other places and adapted - and translated - them as required.
As you will notice when you read the code, I am not a programmer, just a retired naval electrician and Batch enthusiast.
If it is useful to anyone, feel free to use/modify it as you wish.
I am from Argentina and the utilities are in Spanish. I know there are Spanish speakers here.
Each utility has a text file (INSTRUCCIONES.TXT) with instructions to run/install them.

The password for the .7z is "Util@Idades#230&" without the quotes.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RBDGL8 ... sp=sharing

Eduardo

[aGerman]

Eduardo,

I've been struggling to approve this topic. The title isn't quite descriptive. Furthermore the original post doesn't tell anything about the purpose of your utilities and how to use them. I give you the opportunity to update both properly.

Steffen

[YottaByte]

Hi Steffen.

I'm sorry, please accept my apologies. I never asked for help here or anywhere else. The purpose of this post is just to make known what can be done with my very limited knowledge of Batch. I hope it will be useful to someone who deals with PC maintenance.

Well, for example, the "EdiHosts" application, allows you to view, backup, edit and restore the "hosts" file, as well as view the modification date and attributes of that file.
Also, in the same application, you can see the PC name, user name, processor architecture and number of cores, processor temperature and device type (Desktop or Notebook).
It also shows the free space on all disks/drives/memory card.
Verify Internet connection, Reset network (Wi-Fi/Wired), run disk manager, device manager, event viewer, view private IP, public IP and MAC address...

The "VerClave" application can write SSID and Wi-Fi Key stored on the computer to a .txt file and then view it in Notepad. It can also view the Windows registry key and includes most of the items available in "EdiHosts".

On the other hand, with "InfoSist", you can create a detailed system report and then view it. Also in this application some of the items of the previous applications are repeated.

As I pointed out in the first post, in the folder of each application there is a .txt (INSTRUCTIONS.txt) that explains how to use them.

My English is not good. This is translated by Deepl.

Eduardo

[YottaByte]

These are NEW images of the "utilities":

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j_GccQ ... sp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n_Namq ... sp=sharing

[YottaByte]

Hello everybody!
I have fixed small bugs and updated the download link.
If someone has downloaded the Utilities, I would like to know their opinion and if it has been useful to them.
Thanks in advance.

Eduardo

[YottaByte]

Hi everybody.

The utility that displays System Information ("InfoSist") is now integrated into "EdiHosts".
Same link, same key.

Eduardo

[YottaByte]

Hello everybody.

Some people have reported problems with the password in the compressed file (7zip). The link below directs to said file without password.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sQD2n4 ... sp=sharing

Eduardo

[YottaByte]

Hi everybody.

Added "Boot Mode" to "VerClave" utility with Steffen code.
Thanks Steffen.

Same link without password.

Eduardo

[aGerman]

Code: Select all

ECHO  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
ECHO  │                  Procesando...                 │
ECHO  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
:: Barra de progreso.
		for /l %%a in (1,1,52) do echo|set /p="■"

Don't waste the time of your users "Procesando" is a lie. There's nothing time-consuming but your loop. I guess your audience is not interested in funny visual effects. They just want the information - better now than in a second.

Steffen

[YottaByte]

Still no one has complained about the "lie". I don't think waiting a second is a big problem, besides, whoever bothers can remove or comment those few lines of code.
Also the "lie" is cute, right?

[T3RRY]

Still no one has complained about the "lie". I don't think waiting a second is a big problem, besides, whoever bothers can remove or comment those few lines of code.
Also the "lie" is cute, right?

For a utility script, it's just fluff. Fluff like that is more acceptable in games.
Given an animation can be output in parallel while the script is executing through the use of a second thread, there is no need to delay the execution of a script just for appearances sake.

[YottaByte]

Still no one has complained about the "lie". I don't think waiting a second is a big problem, besides, whoever bothers can remove or comment those few lines of code.
Also the "lie" is cute, right?

For a utility script, it's just fluff. Fluff like that is more acceptable in games.
Given an animation can be output in parallel while the script is executing through the use of a second thread, there is no need to delay the execution of a script just for appearances sake.

Thank you for your opinion, it is appreciated.
I make these utilities as entertainment, it is my "game". I understand what you are saying, but I am not charging for those utilities. Also, as I said above, those who use them are free to modify what they want.
If you read my first post, I am a retired naval electrician (I am 65 years old), programming is not my strong suit. It takes me hours to do what you experts would take minutes.
By the way, I don't know how to make a progress bar that works in parallel with the process to be executed and that is integrated into the "interface" of the application, if I knew I would have done it.

Have a nice day.

Eduardo

[aGerman]

I make these utilities as entertainment, it is my "game".

This is an important information because it tells a lot about the aim of your utilities. Until now my asumption was that your goal is to develop tools which are helpful to gather information for a user. In this case you should write it from the perspective of the user. As to what I understand now is that you rather try to explore the opportunities of Batch scripting and test your skills. And obviously that's the reason for your "installation" of the scripts, even though they would work without. And that's the reason why you try to simulate a progress bar, even though you're completely reversing the sense of a progress bar. (Calling it a lie sounds harsh, however you know it's the truth.)

Speaking of progress bars:
- Notice the user if and only if there is a risk that the user thinks the script might be frozen. That is, a task takes noticeable longer than 5 seconds.
- In such cases it should be good enough to just print a message like "Please be patient, this might take a while." before you start the time consuming task.
- If you still want to animate something, do it in parallel while the task is running. That's the expection of the users. Once they recognize that you waste their time, they will not use your tool anymore.
- Don't use a progress bar unless you can divide the task into logical subtasks, and you can advance the bar once a subtask is finalized. A progress bar should indicate the current progress of the task. If this is not possible you could still animate something else. Like a spinner:
viewtopic.php?p=59838#p59838
But still only do it if the task takes longer than 5s and definitely only do it at the same time the task is running.

Steffen

[YottaByte]

I make these utilities as entertainment, it is my "game".

This is an important information because it tells a lot about the aim of your utilities. Until now my asumption was that your goal is to develop tools which are helpful to gather information for a user. In this case you should write it from the perspective of the user. As to what I understand now is that you rather try to explore the opportunities of Batch scripting and test your skills. And obviously that's the reason for your "installation" of the scripts, even though they would work without. And that's the reason why you try to simulate a progress bar, even though you're completely reversing the sense of a progress bar. (Calling it a lie sounds harsh, however you know it's the truth.)

Speaking of progress bars:
- Notice the user if and only if there is a risk that the user thinks the script might be frozen. That is, a task takes noticeable longer than 5 seconds.
- In such cases it should be good enough to just print a message like "Please be patient, this might take a while." before you start the time consuming task.
- If you still want to animate something, do it in parallel while the task is running. That's the expection of the users. Once they recognize that you waste their time, they will not use your tool anymore.
- Don't use a progress bar unless you can divide the task into logical subtasks, and you can advance the bar once a subtask is finalized. A progress bar should indicate the current progress of the task. If this is not possible you could still animate something else. Like a spinner:
viewtopic.php?p=59838#p59838
But still only do it if the task takes longer than 5s and definitely only do it at the same time the task is running.

Steffen

I appreciate your professional advice and I understand what you say, but I do not understand the controversy about a "fake progress bar" that delays the execution of the utility by a few seconds instead of focusing on the utility of the utility (forgive the redundancy) .
Respectfully, I repeat: if anyone is bothered by that little "bar" delay, feel free to edit the batch or not use the utility. It's that easy.

Hey! I need someone to defend me.

Eduardo

[aGerman]

Eduardo

I'm perfectly fine with you saying it's just a game for you. Do whatever you want to do in this case I was just still referring to how you should act for a professional tool. In this case you would probably have users that rely on you doing the right things because they don't even understand the code you wrote, and neither are able to update it

Steffen