What are the slashes with letters for – as seen in set /p or for /f etc?
2 Answers
They are "command line switches", and you use them to give a command more information about what you want it to do.
For example, the dir command lists the files in the working directory, one file per line. If you say dir /w then it lists them in "wide" format, with several files per line. /w is a "command line switch".
To find out information about a particular switch, you need to read the documentation for the command it relates to. For dir, you can type dir /? - the /? switch tells the command to give you help about how it works, including the switches that it accepts.
The two commands you mention, set and for, also accept the /? switch.
The slashes are parameters
If you want to know what parameter for, add "/?" in your command
For example :
copy /? --> this will show you all about copy command
