MS-DOS also know as the operating system developed by the Microsoft company, which controls a large number of situations such as allocations of resources to computers, as is the hard drive, the memory up to managing all input and output devices such as the monitor, horns, printers, among many other elements.
All of this is handled through a series of primary commands and instructions that are taken by the computer system and that allows a communication between the user and the equipment. Furthermore, all of this has been intended for computers with x86 architecturewhich became one of the most popular operating systems.
According to all this, and the importance it has today the MS-DOS Here we are going to explain a little more about what it is about, its history and its main function.
What is the MS-DOS operating system and what is it for?
MS-DOS It managed to reach its greatest popularity between the 80s and 90s where it was pre-installed on most computers. He himself is a basic software that allows and facilitates user interaction with the computer. In order to carry out this program it was necessary for the person to introduce some commands manually through the keyboardfor this they had to previously know each one of these commands and their functions.
However, with the passage of time this operating system was being replaced by the new versions which came out on the market as Windows. Despite this, MS-DOS It is still used by many experts in order to be able to manipulate disk information and carry out functions such as formatting and software installation.
Another function of this operating system is the power coordinate computer information so that it can work properly. In the same way, work with two series of commandsas they are the internal and the external.
internal commands take care of what is system startup on pcwhile external commandsare stored in transient type point files. They had to be kept at hand in order to request the desired commands.
Some of the commands that we find in this operating system are the following:
- CD..: Change to the parent directory.
- CD: Change to the directory below.
- CD/: Change directly to the root directory.
- COPY: Copy the files.
- COPY WITH: Copy the typed text to a file until you press “Ctrl-Z”.
- DATE: Change the system date or only allow to view it.
- OF: It is used to delete a file, as long as it is not hidden in the file.
- THREW OUT: Displays specified text on the screen.
- RD or RMDIR: Delete a directory that is completely empty.
- ADDRESS: Shows a list with all the files and directories that are in the directory of the disk.
- EXIT: Allows you to exit one of the sessions.
- TIME: Allows you to view or modify the clock time.
- WATCH: Shows the version of the operating system.
- TYPE: Shows the content of the file.
- VOL: It is used to see the label of the hard drive and its volume if it has one.
MS-DOS levels What can be done in each one?
This system has a large number of functions and tools that allow you to perform a large number of computer activitiesthis being one of the main reasons why it became one of the most popular OS of the 80s and 90s.
According to all this, work with two types of levels, which we show you below:
First level
This first level is mainly dedicated to what is hardware management in MS-DOS, where the coordination of the CPU operates. All this is known as computer brain. Therefore, at this level the OS takes all the characters that are typed with the keyboard for later encode it and the CPU is able to read and understand it.
One time the CPU has managed to capture all the information that has been writtenthe information is reflected in computer screen so that now it is the user who can understand it.
We can say that the OS acts as an intermediary where it encodes each of the signals that are transmitted through the keyboard, each of these characters are converted into control codes that programs can use. It is also responsible for carrying out some activities related to the operation and use of the programs, either for disk formatting or for offer information about the files stored in the internal memory of the disk.
Second level
the second level consists in that the MS-DOS has a utilitarian function, which is carried out by the execution of the commands, this allows this level to interact with the computer in a direct way. Typically, these commands perform functions like those of renaming a disk, changing the clock time, copying files from one place to anotheramong many more functions.
These commands are usually treated as if they were a program, taking into account that these they are more limited. Where they only carry out a specific task and are used mainly for general computer maintenance.
History and impact of MS-DOS How important was it for computing?
All this began in 1981, where for the first time it appeared the MS-DOSan interface that was created and developed for personal computers IDM PCfrom a previous version which was known as 86-DOS or QDOSbelonging to Seattle Computer Products.
The year after its launch, what was version 1.0which had its preinstalled version PC-DOS. It began to become very popular where it got massive use until the middle of The 1990swhere it was replaced by the windows operating system.
Although Windows was based on TWO, it offered users an improved and friendlier graphical interface, thus drawing the attention of most users. Currently, many of its structures continue to be preserved in the basic processes of some of Microsoft Windows systems.
Characteristics of MS-DOS What made it different from the rest?
This OS had a large number of important features that made it stand out from the competition. All this led him at the time to become one of the best systems for computers
That is why here we present the The most important features of MS-DOS:
Type of system
One of the most outstanding features is the type of operating system with which it counts, which is a single userthat is, it can only be used by one person at a time, Y monotaskwhere it only allows run one program at a time.
In the same waythe user’s communication with the OS is carried out through two modesthe first of which is interactive mode and the second batch mode.
Access
Another of the most important factors in all this is access, in this case there are three different ways for the user to access it. In the event that the person uses a microsoft operating system old as Windows 95 or Windows 98, you will have to access it through the following route:
- Enter to “Start”.
- Then select “To turn off”.
- There choose the option “Restart computer in MS-DOS mode.”
Another way that we can find to access the OS also in these versions of Microsoft is the following:
- Click on “Start”.
- There select “Programs”.
- then choose “MS-DOS Command Prompt.”
You can also go directly to DOS bypassing Windowsfor this you must press the F8 key repeatedly until a list with different options appears on the screen where you select “Command Prompt”.
The last way to access this OS is if you are using a newer operating system from Microsoft, either Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8 or 10. In this case MS-DOS as such does not existbut if we find a prompt that simulates all or almost all DOS functions.
DOS does not exist in these versions of Windows because none of those systems are dependent on DOS, something that does happen with Windows 95 and 98. Therefore, in some of these newer versions it is possible that some of the MS-DOS commands do not work.
To access the system from W10 you have to write the cmd command in the cortana search boxyou can also do it by pressing the keys “Windows + R”, and there you write in the box “CMD”. Then you will see many commands of the MS-DOS as the following: CD, CLS, MKamong many others.
Structure
As we mentioned earlier, in MS-DOS only one program can be used at a time, this is because it has basic kernel functionsalso known as the operating system kernel. However, there is an exception with some TSR programs, which are capable of multitasking. But, despite this, the problems with the non-reentrant kernel continue.
In this case it is that every time the process requires a service within the kernel of the operating system, it cannot become interrupted by another request until it has finished with the first. This is all because it has a monolithic corewhere the entire kernel is developed within the kernel at monitoring mode.
Therefore, the kernel defines what is a high-level abstraction layer on top of the hardware of the computerwhere a group of system calls is made to be able to implement each of the corresponding services, either process management, memory management, competition among others. In addition, it is worth mentioning that each of the maintenance modules is generally separated.
In this way, it is very difficult or complicated to achieve that the integration code between all the modules. This leads to when all modules run in the same address space, a single error in one of them can break the entire system.
What are all the versions of MS-DOS that were developed?
Since its launch in 1981, this operating system has launched several versions in order to increase functions and tools to facilitate its use for each of its users.
Next, we present each of these versions:
PC DOS 1.0
This first version was released in the year 1981 along with its release. The same It would last only one year since the next version known as PC-DOS 1.1 would be launched in 1982.. back then so much PC DOS What MS-DOS were developed by Microsoft and IBMbut it did not take too long for them to separate.
After that Microsoft would announce that it wanted to create its own interface for DOSthis generated as a result Windows 1.0, which was announced in the year 1983, but at that time this did not generate any type of interest to IBM. It was then until 1985 when the first full version of Windows 1.01.
MS-DOS 2.0
That was how by March 1983 it was officially known the second version of this OS, which was thrown through of the new computer…
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