batch to change .bat to cmd or .exe

i was just wondering how could i make a batch file to convert .bat to .cmd (or .exe if possible)
i tryed wtih this but it didnt work

@echo off
ren %1 *.cmd

im just a beginer atm, just learning from examples

Comments

[rich_moe]

bat2exe.com was what I used, but I was never good at text/scripting.

With the concentration on scripting languages these days, I'm not sure how much these programs will get used anymore. As a learning tool, my guess is that this may be useful, but the ability to look inside an .exe file after it has been converted is zero to none.

[Quercus austrina]

Was it bat2exe or bat2com. I'll have to go dig out the Win98 machine. It's on there somewhere. 

You will need a converter like one of these. Just renaming a .BAT to .COM or .EXE won't work at all. Of course you could write a batch file to use one of these command line (DOS) programs to automate the process. Just use %1.bat and %1.exe (or com, depending on the program) for the names.

Qa

[NachoMahma]

.  Batch files are text-based scripts.
.  Applications are binary/executable files.
.  You can't change one to the other just by changing the file extension.
.  As lemonie mentioned, there are programs that will compile a batch script into an executable file. Google is your friend.

[lemonie]

I disagree with "compile" - I think differently as that comment. But I don't know too much. My main justification for self-extracting-archive is an Instructable that tells you how to get the bat out of one of these .exes, involving running it. Which I can't find...

L

[NachoMahma]

.  http://www.google.com/search?q=compile+a+batch+script+into+an+executable+file
.  But there's nearly always more than one way to skin a cat. ;)

[lemonie]

It depends whether you read "compile" as - translate script to equivalent x86 executable code, by use of a software compiler. Or take it in a broad sense to mean "convert to a different file type"
?

L

[NachoMahma]

.  I've never seen it used in your broader sense, only the text-code-to-binary.

[lemonie]

It's not my broader sense, and that was my point. I don't believe anyone would create a compiler to convert batch script to x86machine code. I expect the thing is just packaged into a self-extracting archive, like software installation packages.
What do you think?

L

[NachoMahma]

.  The last one I used (that was 20+ years ago and I don't recall the name) compiled the DOS commands into CALLs, GOSUBs, POKEs, &c in binary ("x86machine code") - just like the DOS interpreter does on the fly. I supposed you could call that pre-interpreted instead of complied.
.  And I'm not saying that your method isn't (wasn't) used somewhere, just that I haven't seen it.

[lemonie]

You can get software that will package a .bat into an .exe, I'm guessing it works like a self-extracting archive.
As I can't recommend one, just search for "bat to exe converter"

L