> But you can use the '>' operator, that will create the file only if the command runs successful:

It will still create the file.

Run this in bash, zsh or fish:

    false > falsefile

It will create an empty file called "falsefile". This is because the shell opens the file before the program runs.

What fixes it in your script is the `&&`. That causes the `dosctr` to only be run if the `dos-make-addr-conf` succeeded.