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MS-DOS: Difference between revisions
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By default, MS-DOS is driven by a command line interface; the <code>A></code> or <code>C:\></code> prompt shown when the command processor is ready to accept input ultimately became one of the unofficial symbols of DOS. Several software vendors have developed programs that add a more friendly user interface to manage files and launch other programs. | By default, MS-DOS is driven by a command line interface; the <code>A></code> or <code>C:\></code> prompt shown when the command processor is ready to accept input ultimately became one of the unofficial symbols of DOS. Several software vendors have developed programs that add a more friendly user interface to manage files and launch other programs. | ||
Support for running multiple programs simultaneously is very limited in MS-DOS. The operating systems allows a program to terminate and stay resident (TSR), meaning that a portion of the program's code can stay present in memory and be triggered by an API call or a hardware interrupt even after the base program exits. A program can also execute another program, although control will not return to the original program until the other program exits. Furthermore, as MS-DOS runs in [[w:real mode|real mode]], there is no memory protection and therefore a program can easily overwrite other program's memory. A [[Multitasking MS-DOS 4|version]] of MS-DOS was that supported | Support for running multiple programs simultaneously is very limited in MS-DOS. The operating systems allows a program to terminate and stay resident (TSR), meaning that a portion of the program's code can stay present in memory and be triggered by an API call or a hardware interrupt even after the base program exits. A program can also execute another program, although control will not return to the original program until the other program exits. Furthermore, as MS-DOS runs in [[w:real mode|real mode]], there is no memory protection and therefore a program can easily overwrite other program's memory. A [[Multitasking MS-DOS 4|version]] of MS-DOS was that supported preemptive multitasking of compatible programs was produced in 1985, shipped to a limited number of OEMs, and eventually evolved into [[OS/2]]. | ||
A port of the 16-bit MS-DOS was made for 8-bit MSX computers known as [[MSX-DOS]]. MSX-DOS is based on the MS-DOS 1.25 kernel and uses the same filesystem. | A port of the 16-bit MS-DOS was made for 8-bit MSX computers known as [[MSX-DOS]]. MSX-DOS is based on the MS-DOS 1.25 kernel and uses the same filesystem. | ||