Command line length in Ash or Dash Shells

[Dr Rainer Woitok <rainer.woitok@gmail.com>]

Fellow Cygwinners,

recently I needed to remove quite a few Cygwin packages from my install-
ation, and due to  all these interdependencies  I wanted to do this in a
single call:

   setup-x86*.exe -x ...,...,...

Calling this  command as  a Windows  "*.bat" file  failed with  an error
message suggesting that the command line simply was too long.  Searching
the web I  found disagreeing figures for the maximum command line length
for "*bat" files  under Windows Vista of  2000+ and 8000+,  but since my
command line had a length of  12000+ anyway,  I tried issuing this comm-
and from an Ash Shell script instead, which succeeded.

No I'm  playing with the idea  of using such an  Ash Shell script  (with
"setup-x86*.exe -P", of course)  to carry my current Cygwin implementat-
ion over to my  not yet decided upon next hardware.   But nevertheless I
feel a bit uneasy  about any potential  command line length  restriction
which could ultimately raise  its ugly head and interfere with my glori-
ous plans.

Does anybody definitely know about a  maximum command line length in the
Ash or Dash Shells?

Or alternatively:  is there a way to cause  "setup-x86*.exe" to read the
package list from a file or from standard input, even though "setup-x86*
--help" does not seem to indicate there is?

Any pointers appreciated.

Sincerely,
  Rainer

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