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[What's DOS?] [DOS history] [DOS features]
This page provides information about what's DOS, it's history and it's future. And there's a list of the excellent features of DOS. Have a look, find out how DOS can be useful for you!
What's DOS?
DOS stands for Disk Operating System. An Operating System is the software link between the computer's hardware & other software. Without an OS a computer is an aimless machine. The OS executes tasks as: keeping TIME and DATE, reading & writing data from/to disks, keeping a record of a disk's content (filesystem).
DOS is an operating system for IBM compatible pc's. There are many other Operating systems for this type of computer. Best known is probably Windows 95/98/NT, but there also is Linux, OS/2, Solaris, CP/M and many more.
DOS history
In 1981, when IBM launched it's PC, DOS was shipped with it. It was written by Microsoft for IBM, and was named PC-DOS. Microsoft published and marketed their own version under the name MS-DOS. In the early days all 'IBM-COMPATIBLES' used MS-DOS.
It can be doubted that DOS is really a Microsoft invention, as the kernel was 'inspired' on the CP/M operating system, and the 'command prompt' looks like a reduced UNIX shell.
MS-DOS has been the mayor operating system until the early 1990's. They have produced many versions, up to 6.22. Version 3.0 or above will be OK for most programs. As IBM introduced OS/2 and Microsoft launched Windows 95, DOS seems to have vanished. Microsoft, and many others, have seized their DOS and DOS programs developments.
But i know of several other 'flavours' of DOS. Lineo and PhysTechSoft and Intelligent Micro Software are companies who are continuing development of 'commercial' DOS versions. And there also is the FreeDOS project, some people have joined forces to develop a fully free DOS, according to the Linux idea.
Loads and loads of useful software were written for DOS. And there is still software development for DOS. People look to me with disbelieve when i tell them i surf the internet using a graphical WWW browser for DOS, Arachne. And there's more, see my DOS & DOS programs for links to other useful DOS programs.
DOS features
- RUNS ON EVERY PC
- Software becomes ever more demanding. It grows bigger & slower, but does it get any 'better'? Who needs thousands of options you are never going to use? What's the big difference between Word 8 and Word 6? DOS doesn't put any demands on hardware, it runs just as smooth on a 4 mHz 8086 XT as on the newest PENTIUM's.
- TEXT INTERFACE
- You have to type your commands, first think, and then formulate what action you wish the computer to do. Often you can perform an action with one short command line, which would take dozens of mouseclicks in environments like Windows. In those environments you are overwhelmed with windows, boxes, buttons, icons, and are liable to lose track of 'what you wanted to do'.
- BE IN CONTROL
- Be in control of your PC, don't let 'WINDOWS WIZARDS' practice their witchcraft on your computer, and make up settings and configurations you never wanted. You probably are familiar with those WIZARDS, which you can't stop once you've started. Where is that 'CANCEL' button when you need it?
- SIMPLE TO CONFIGURE
- All you have to do to configure your PC is to write two textfiles (CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT) in which you load hardware drivers and specify memory settings. You can safely experiment with configurations as much as you like, you won't sick up a 'REGISTRY'.
- KEEP YOUR SYSTEM CLEAN
- Operating systems like Windows use 'shared files'. Every program you install, adds some .DLL and .INI files in your Windows directory. When you remove the program, all sorts of files remain in your Windows directory. Microsoft claims this problem was solved with the introduction of windows 98, but surely they have included enough bugs so you'll want to buy windows 2000 and so on....
