The term 'batch' is from batch processing, meaning 'non-interactive execution', though a batch file might not process a batch of multiple data. A batch file may contain any command the interpreter accepts interactively and use constructs that enable conditional branching and looping within the batch file, such as IF, FOR, and GOTO labels.
It consists of a series of commands to be executed by the command-line interpreter, stored in a plain text file. A batch file is a script file in DOS, OS/2 and Microsoft Windows.