Jpsoft Reviews 2

For the last 20 years 4NT and now Take Command have been my trusted companions and the first programs I launch upon computer restart. Being an unusual java programmer, who prefers coding outside IDEs I do everything from start to finish using batch files: compile, test, make jars, backups, deploy etc.
TCC saves me hours weekly thanks to its streamlined interface, complete set of flow control structures and impressive superset of the CMD commands. It helps to write and update my batch files with speed and ease;

Ability to create custom aliases is another amazing feature, its like having your own language to talk and navigate your computer: e.g. I type "myjava" and it takes me to the predefined directory, sets my favorite color schema and window title! I setup around 60 aliases and the speed with which I navigate and operate my machine is light-fast!

If you are as a heavy user of command prompts as I am, you owe it yourself to try Take Command Console.

There are some reviews out. I want to write my experience with Take Command from the viewpoint of a Unix/Linux user who uses Unix systems for nearly 20 years and runs linux command line applications for Windows like Babun.. Babun gives me all powerful tools Windows is missing, like grep, python 3 and perl. But there are a few Windows specific tasks which Babun cannot perform because it lacks necessary command line utilities.
When I started using pcs and writing batch files I was not satisfied with the very limited capabilities of command.com and it's very limited batch language. Long time ago during a computer course I was introduced to Unix shells csh and sh. I immediately saw what I was missing. Fortunately I found in a mailbox system 4DOS and used it when ever possible. Later arrived NT4 and so was 4NT. Again the experience that this external tool was much better than the MS original. After these times I was working mainly on AIX and Linux systems and I did use Windows command line on rare occasions only. But now I have to login first in to a local windows pc in office. Then I have to start a lot of applications manually. As a long time command line user it is inconvenient to use a mouse to start them. Not to mention looking up the program in the start menue or graphically traversing a directory tree searching for programs without a registry entry. Then I remembered 4DOS. Does it still exist? A little Google search found Take Command. But Windows has Powershell included without surcharge which offers all capabilities of the operating system on the command line. Would it be better to use it or Take Command? Take Command won the race. Why?

1. If you want to learn Powershell, you have to relearn all things. It has a steep learning curve, because it's concepts are completely different from cmd.exe. Take Command offers familiar commands from cmd.exe or command.com. Many of them have same names as their cmd.exe counterparts. Other commands have self describing names. E.g., I wanted to compile a AutoHotkey script, save it as a shortcut in my Windows startup folder and activate it immediately. The taskend and shortcut commands allowed to write a little btm file for doing that. Powershell code for the same task is longer and more complicated.

Take command is a shell with excellent command line editing capabilities. They give me the same comfort as the Emacs editor. I am only missing a repeat count, e.g. jump 3 words backward. In Emacs I would press Alt-3 Alt-b. Even command and directory history windows exist. Open them, browse their entries, execute commands or change directories immediately or copy them to command line. All can be done with preconfigured hotkeys.
Aliases give me the same flexibility like UNIX shells. Sometimes I am intermixing Linux and Windows commands, e.g. ls and dir. An alias ls=dir came in very handy. It is possible to use an alias instead of a one line batch file because you can pass arguments to them.
Another goodie, you can draw a file or directory name visible from graphical applications into console window and work with it. You can access it immediately because the absolute name will be copied. This does not only work in Take Command's internal file explorer but also with external tools like Windows Explorer or Tablacus.

One interesting feature are regular expressions in ffind command. Despite the fact that I am using them for many years with the Unix tools sed, awk, Perl and Python I am not yet able to use them. The documentation could be improved with examples.

Is Take Command worth the extra spending? I say yes. It provides Unix shell like power to Windows users. If you always know the command line commands or if you want to use existing bat and btm files. By using Take Command I was immediately productive on my Windows laptop. With Powershell that would not have been possible.