I'm not really complaining (about "\=" or the speed) ... just making observations. I found it odd that SET /A lets you use almost everything @EVAL has to offer. A few exceptions are mentioned in the help, but not "\=". As for it not being supported, it does produce results, just not the intended ones, in fact, rether peculiar ones. You might think that, since "set /a n\=2" echoes "2", n is set to 2, but n remains unchanged.