MS-DOS

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(added link to FreeDOS and Windows ME is the last version to have DOS under the hood.)
(Mention the format of DOS file names; it may be relevant when documenting the file formats)
 
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'''MS-DOS''' refers to "Microsoft DOS", the Microsoft-developed variant of DOS. Because of the prominence of Microsoft in computer industry, it is frequently the case that people refer to "DOS" when they mean MS-DOS, although there have in fact been a number of non-Microsoft operating systems also called DOS (such as [[Apple_DOS_file_system|Apple II DOS]]). PC-DOS refers to the specific variety of MS-DOS that was licensed by Microsoft to IBM for use on its personal computers, while MS-DOS is the generic version that ran on a wide variety of "PC clones" or "compatibles". Microsoft originally got MS-DOS from another company called Seattle Computer Products which had created its predecessor as an imitation of CP/M. The first version of MS-DOS didn't even support subdirectories, but this was added in version 2.0. Windows runs on a base of MS-DOS, something that was clearly visible in early versions up to 3.11 (where you had to first boot DOS and then run Windows as a separate program), but obscured in later versions (up to and including Windows ME) which boot directly into Windows, but DOS was still there under the hood; finally with [[Windows NT]] and later systems built on it such as [[Windows XP]] and its successors, the low-level operating system kernel was fully integrated to a system that was "Windows" from top to bottom.
  
'''MS-DOS''' refers to "Microsoft DOS", the Microsoft-developed variant of DOS. Because of the prominence of Microsoft in computer industry, it is frequently the case that people refer to "DOS" when they mean MS-DOS, although there have in fact been a number of non-Microsoft operating systems also called DOS (such as Apple II DOS). PC-DOS refers to the specific variety of MS-DOS that was licensed by Microsoft to IBM for use on its personal computers, while MS-DOS is the generic version that ran on a wide variety of "PC clones" or "compatibles". Microsoft originally got MS-DOS from another company called Seattle Computer Products which had created its predecessor as an imitation of CP/M. The first version of MS-DOS didn't even support subdirectories, but this was added in version 2.0. Windows runs on a base of MS-DOS, something that was clearly visible in early versions up to 3.11 (where you had to first boot DOS and then run Windows as a separate program), but obscured in later versions (up to and including Windows ME) which boot directly into Windows, but DOS is still there under the hood.
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Of particular interest to DOS users is [[FreeDOS]], which reimplements and extends MS-DOS and other DOSs.
  
Of particular interest to DOS users is [[FreeDOS]], which reimplements and extends MS-DOS and other DOSs.  
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DOS file names (including directory names) are case-insensitive and are limited to 8 before the dot and 3 after the dot. A full path of a file in DOS includes the drive letter and colon and backslash, and the directory names are followed by backslahes before the next piece(s) of the path; relative names can be specified by excluding the drive letter and colon and first backslash.
  
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See also:
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* [[:Category:MS-DOS]], for formats related to MS-DOS
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* [[DOSBox]]
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== Versions ==
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* [[MS-DOS 3.30]]
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* [[MS-DOS 6.22]]
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== Resources ==
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS Wikipedia entry on MS-DOS]
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS Wikipedia entry on MS-DOS]
 
* [http://www.computerhope.com/history/dos.htm MS-DOS Release Timeline] from computerhope.com
 
* [http://www.computerhope.com/history/dos.htm MS-DOS Release Timeline] from computerhope.com
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* [http://www.thezac.com/MicrosoftHistory/03_ms-dos1x-3x.html The History and Future of Microsoft Operating Systems]
 
* [http://www.thezac.com/MicrosoftHistory/03_ms-dos1x-3x.html The History and Future of Microsoft Operating Systems]
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_DOS_operating_systems Timeline of DOS Operating Systems] from Wikipedia
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_DOS_operating_systems Timeline of DOS Operating Systems] from Wikipedia
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* [http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/microsoft-ms-dos-early-source-code/ Microsoft MS-DOS early source code] from Computer History Museum
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[[Category:MS-DOS| ]]
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[[Category:Microsoft]]
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[[Category:Operating Systems]]
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[[Category:Software]]

Latest revision as of 09:10, 31 July 2021

Software > Operating Systems > MS-DOS

MS-DOS refers to "Microsoft DOS", the Microsoft-developed variant of DOS. Because of the prominence of Microsoft in computer industry, it is frequently the case that people refer to "DOS" when they mean MS-DOS, although there have in fact been a number of non-Microsoft operating systems also called DOS (such as Apple II DOS). PC-DOS refers to the specific variety of MS-DOS that was licensed by Microsoft to IBM for use on its personal computers, while MS-DOS is the generic version that ran on a wide variety of "PC clones" or "compatibles". Microsoft originally got MS-DOS from another company called Seattle Computer Products which had created its predecessor as an imitation of CP/M. The first version of MS-DOS didn't even support subdirectories, but this was added in version 2.0. Windows runs on a base of MS-DOS, something that was clearly visible in early versions up to 3.11 (where you had to first boot DOS and then run Windows as a separate program), but obscured in later versions (up to and including Windows ME) which boot directly into Windows, but DOS was still there under the hood; finally with Windows NT and later systems built on it such as Windows XP and its successors, the low-level operating system kernel was fully integrated to a system that was "Windows" from top to bottom.

Of particular interest to DOS users is FreeDOS, which reimplements and extends MS-DOS and other DOSs.

DOS file names (including directory names) are case-insensitive and are limited to 8 before the dot and 3 after the dot. A full path of a file in DOS includes the drive letter and colon and backslash, and the directory names are followed by backslahes before the next piece(s) of the path; relative names can be specified by excluding the drive letter and colon and first backslash.

See also:

[edit] Versions

[edit] Resources

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