PC Stats has posted a beginners guide about batch files

At their simplest, batch files are text files which execute one or more command prompt commands in a specific order. The power of a batch file lies in the way that it allows you to combine multiple commands into one batch file ' program' and customize the way that each command operates. In this article PCSTATS will illustrate what batch files are good for and how to create them. By creating a useful series of batch files designed to allow you to selectively back up files from one location to another, we'll demonstrate the ways that batch files can make your computing life easier while you learn the various option involved in creating them.

Guide To Understanding and Creating Batch Files