Oddly, at a Windows command prompt, you can do 'cd ""' and it does not complain. It doesn't go anywhere, but, it doesn't complain.

Don't assume cmd.exe (or command.com) behave like a unix shell. Quite the opposite is true. 30 years of bug-compatible extensions give both a very unique smell. Whatever happens in those two dinosaurs has nearly nothing in common with the underlying APIs.

Note that unquoting happens inside the application, not in the shell -- except when you call a shell buildin like cd/chdir. Now look at the fine differences:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\Users\alex>cd
C:\Users\alex

C:\Users\alex>cd ""
C:\Users\alex

C:\Users\alex>cd .

C:\Users\alex>
[download]

cd "" behaves like cd without arguments, i.e. it prints the current directory. cd . actually changes the current directory to *drumroll* the current directory! So it does not print anything.

Alexander