Using multiple IF statements in a batch file

Question

When using more than 1 IF statement, is there a special guideline that should be followed? Should they be grouped? Should I use parenthesis to wrap the command(s)?

An ex

Answer 1

The explanation given by Merlyn above is pretty complete. However, I would like to elaborate on coding standards.

When several IF's are chained, the final command is executed when all the previous conditions are meet; this is equivalent to an AND operator. I used this behavior now and then, but I clearly indicate what I intend to do via an auxiliary Batch variable called AND:

SET AND=IF

IF EXIST somefile.txt %AND% EXIST someotherfile.txt SET var=somefile.txt,someotherfile.txt

Of course, this is NOT a true And operator and must not be used in combination with ELSE clause. This is just a programmer aid to increase the legibility of an instruction that is rarely used.

When I write Batch programs I always use several auxiliary variables that I designed with the sole purpose of write more readable code. For example:

SET AND=IF
SET THEN=(
SET ELSE=) ELSE (
SET NOELSE=
SET ENDIF=)
SET BEGIN=(
SET END=)
SET RETURN=EXIT /B

These variables aids in writting Batch programs in a much clearer way and helps to avoid subtle errors, as Merlyn suggested. For example:

IF EXIST "somefile.txt" %THEN%
  IF EXIST "someotherfile.txt" %THEN%
    SET var="somefile.txt,someotherfile.txt"
  %NOELSE%
  %ENDIF%
%NOELSE%
%ENDIF%

IF EXIST "%~1" %THEN%
  SET "result=%~1"
%ELSE%
  SET "result="
%ENDIF%

I even have variables that aids in writting WHILE-DO and REPEAT-UNTIL like constructs. This means that Batch variables may be used in some degree as preprocessor values.