edlinfan[1], whose alias alone should
DOS[2], wrote me with an explanation
of the syntactical differences between
the GOTO and CALL commands in batch
files[3].
Apparently, CALL was a late addition
to DOS commands (at least post-dating
DOS 3.3).
edlinfan explained that the proper
colon. The weird thing is that with a
few fantastically aggravating
exceptions, GOTO was working *with*
the colons in place, which is why the
to figure out.
He also offered an explanation for
CALL's colon requirement: you can CALL
a subroutine saved in a separate file.
you are calling a label. If there's no
colon, it's clear that a file is being
called. That distinction isn't
necessary in the case of GOTO, because
you can't GOTO another file.
So thanks edlinfan! I think the
mystery of GOTO, CALL, and the colon
s satisfactorily resolved.
[1] gopher://edlinfan.duckdns.org:7000/1
[2] gopher://gopherpedia.com/0/Edlin
[3] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space/0/~visiblink/phlog/20210811
