This is an urban myth of computing, and it needs to die.
CP/M commands did not accept command-line switches in any standard way. You are trying to "correct" people who are telling the real story by repeating a myth.
Ah, I seem to have been waylaid by some of the older mentions there - thanks for the link with mention of M-DOS. I was certain of DEC connections, but thought it came through CP/M and forgot to take into account PDP-10 history of Microsoft.
This is an urban myth of computing, and it needs to die.
CP/M commands did not accept command-line switches in any standard way. You are trying to "correct" people who are telling the real story by repeating a myth.
http://www.os2museum.com/wp/why-does-windows-really-use-back...