The -exit parameter should be used in conjunction with a program name to run on the command line, and DOSBox closes when that program exits. I suspect you were using -c parameters (which append commands to Z:\AUTOEXEC.BAT) with no program to run.

The behavior of the "exit" command issued from the running BASIC interpreter is to be expected, because you're exiting the sub-shell created by the interpreter to execute the command. DOSBox only closes from an "exit" command when the top level shell is exited.

Gene Wirchenko wrote:

I have also noted that from GW-BASIC, that a
command "exit"
does not terminate DOSBox as I would have expected.

True, this exits GW-BASIC, but not DOSBox itself.

IIGS_User wrote:

Gene Wirchenko wrote:

I have also noted that from GW-BASIC, that a
command "exit"
does not terminate DOSBox as I would have expected.

True, this exits GW-BASIC, but not DOSBox itself.

How do you figure? GW-BASIC is exited with the SYSTEM statement.

The normal way to execute DOS commands from within GW-BASIC is with the SHELL statement. In this case: SHELL "EXIT", which as I mentioned will only exit the sub-shell thus created, effectively doing nothing -- it does not cause GW-BASIC to be exited.