MS-DOS

This article is about Microsoft DOS specifically. For compatible operating systems, see DOS.

MS-DOS
The command-line interface, showing that the current directory is the root of drive C:
DeveloperMicrosoft
Written inx86 assembly,[1] later versions also used C
OS familyDOS
Working statePreserved pieces exist in 32-bit Windows
Source modelClosed source; open source for versions 1.25, 2.11 and 4.00
Initial releaseAugust 12, 1981 (1981-08-12)[2]
Final release8.0 (Windows Me) / September 14, 2000 (2000-09-14)
Repository
Available inEnglish
Update methodRe-installation
Package managerNone
Supported platformsx86
Kernel typeMonolithic
Influenced byTOPS-10, CP/M
Default
user interface		Command-line (COMMAND.COM), text (DOS Shell)
License
Preceded by86-DOS
Succeeded byWindows NT (since Windows XP)
Official websiteInternet Archive MS-DOS overview
Support status
MS-DOS versions 1.x-7.0 unsupported as of December 31, 2001[4] MS-DOS versions 7.10 and 8.0 unsupported as of July 11, 2006.

MS-DOS (/ˌɛmˌɛsˈdɒs/ em-ess-DOSS; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few operating systems attempting to be compatible with MS-DOS, are sometimes referred to as "DOS" (which is also the generic acronym for disk operating system). MS-DOS was the main operating system for IBM PC compatibles during the 1980s, from which point it was gradually superseded by operating systems offering a graphical user interface (GUI), in various generations of the graphical Microsoft Windows operating system.[5]

IBM licensed and re-released it in 1981 as DOS 1.0 for use in its PCs. Although MS-DOS and PC DOS were initially developed in parallel by Microsoft and IBM, the two products diverged after twelve years, in 1993, with recognizable differences in compatibility, syntax and capabilities.[5] Beginning in 1988 with DR-DOS, several competing products were released for the x86 platform.[6]

Initially, MS-DOS was targeted at Intel 8086 processors running on computer hardware using floppy disks to store and access not only the operating system, but application software and user data as well. Progressive version releases delivered support for other mass storage media in ever greater sizes and formats, along with added feature support for newer processors and rapidly evolving computer architectures. Ultimately, it was the key product in Microsoft's development from a programming language company to a diverse software development firm, providing the company with essential revenue and marketing resources. It was also the underlying basic operating system on which early versions of Windows ran as a GUI. MS-DOS went through eight versions, until development ceased in 2000; version 6.22 from 1994 was the final standalone version, with versions 7 and 8 serving mostly in the background for loading Windows 9x.[7]

The command interpreter, COMMAND.COM, runs when no application program is running. When an application exits, the interpreter resumes – loaded back into memory by the DOS if it was purged by the application. A command is processed by matching input text with either a built-in command or an executable file located on the current drive and along the command path. Although command and file name matching is case-insensitive, the interpreter preserves the case of parameters as input. A command with significant program size or used infrequently tended to be a separate file in order to limit the size of the command processor program.

  1. ^ Paterson, Tim (June 1983). "An Inside Look at MS-DOS". Seattle Computer Products. Seattle. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Linfo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 4.0-mit-relicense was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Obsolete Products Life-Cycle Policy". Support. Microsoft. July 30, 2009. Archived from the original on July 6, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Lapuz, Jerica Jean (2023). "Unveiling the Depths of Ms-Dos: An In-Depth Exploration of ITS Architecture, Commands, and Historical Significance". doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.14329.85608 – via ResearchGate.
  6. ^ Allan, Roy A. (2001). "Microsoft in the 1980s, part III 1980s – The IBM/Macintosh era". A history of the personal computer: the people and the technology. London, Ontario: Allan Pub. p. 14. ISBN 0-9689108-0-7. Archived from the original on July 2, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2009. [1] Archived July 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "A Compilation of 8 Historical Essays". Retrieved January 30, 2016.
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