Org-babel invoking cmd.exe

Question

Is there a simple configuration to get org-babel to invoke cmd.exe that doesn't involve modifying the org-babel source?

Googling for ["org-babel" sh "cmd"] finds this email list discussion from 2010: Re: [Orgmode] org-babel-sh and Microsoft Windows

but that looks like a blanket solution, not one that could be applied on a per-block or per-file, as I'd want to able to run sh/bash too.

(This is for literate DevOps of windows servers, so "use sh/bash/zsh" is unfortunately not a option.)

Answer 1

In spite of what I wrote in the comments one can set cmd as shell in ob-sh! The only thing to be aware of is that one needs to use cmdproxy.exe instead of cmd.exe to get the output to stdout right.

You can also do this on a per-code-block basis with the following small advice (working with your version GNU Emacs 25.0.50.1 (x86_64-w64-mingw32)). It defines the new header argument :shcmd for sh-code blocks. There you set the shell you want to use, e.g., cmdproxy.exe

(require 'ob-sh)
(defadvice org-babel-sh-evaluate (around set-shell activate)
  "Add header argument :shcmd that determines the shell to be called."
  (let* ((org-babel-sh-command (or (cdr (assoc :shcmd params)) org-babel-sh-command)))
    ad-do-it
    ))

After installing this advice you can use it as in the following example:

#+BEGIN_SRC sh :shcmd "cmdproxy.exe"
dir
#+END_SRC

#+RESULTS:
#+begin_example
dir
 Datenträger in Laufwerk C: ist CRUZER
 Volumeseriennummer: CEAB-B990

 Verzeichnis von c:\temp
.
..
test.org
.
.
.