DOS Function Call Summary

00H Terminate Program (obsolete)

Entry AH = 00h
CS = Program segment prefix address
Exit Does not return
Description: This is an obsolete method for terminating a DOS program. Use
function 4Ch instead.


01H Read Keyboard with Echo
Entry AH = 01h
Exit AL = Character read from standard input device
Description: This function will read a single character from the standard input
device. If no character is waiting to be read, it will wait until a
character becomes available.


02H Write to Standard Output Device
Entry AH = 02h
DL = Character to write to standard output device
Exit None
Description: This function will write the specified character on the standard
output device.


03H Read Character From Aux Device
Entry AH = 03h
Exit AL = Character read from Standard Auxiliary Device
Description: This function will read a character from the Standard Auxiliary
Device. If no character is waiting to be read, it will wait until a
character becomes available.


04H Write Character to Standard Aux Device
Entry AH = 04h
DL = Character to write to standard auxiliary device
Exit None
Description: This function will write the specified character to the Standard
Auxiliary Device.


05H Print Character
Entry AH = 05h
DL = Character to write to the standard printer device
Exit None
Description: This function will send the specified character to the Standard
Printer Device.


06H Direct Console Input/Output
Entry AH = 06h
DL = I/O Switch value: 0FFh = read character, 0h 0FEh = write
Exit AL = Character read if read requested and character ready
Description: This function will perform input or output on the standard input
and standard output devices.
If the value in DL is 0FFh, a read is requested. In this case, the
function will return with the Zero flag clear and a character code
in AL if a character is waiting to be read. If no character is
available, the function returns with the Zero flag set, and the value
in AL is undefined.
If the value in DL is anything other than 0FFh, then that value is
written to the standard output device.
When used for input, this function does not perform Control-C
(break) checking on the input stream. Any characters read using
this function are not echoed back to standard output.


07H Direct Console Input Without Echo
Entry AH = 07h
Exit AL = Character read from standard input
Description: This function will read a character from the standard input device.
If no character is ready to be read, DOS will wait until a character
becomes available. The character read is not echoed to the
standard output device.
This function does not perform Control-C (break) checking on the
input stream.


08H Read Standard Input Without Echo
Entry AH = 08h
Exit AL = Character read from standard input
Description: This function will read a character from the standard input device,
without echoing it to the standard output.


09H Display A Character String
Entry AH = 09h
DS:DX = Address of the string to print
Exit None
Description: This function will write a character string to the standard output
device. On entry, DS:DX contains the address of the string. The
string must be terminated by a dollar character $. All characters
up to, but not including, the terminating dollar character will be
written to the standard output device.


0AH Buffered Keyboard Input
Entry AH = 0Ah
DS:DX = Address of input buffer
Exit No values returned in registers. The characters read are returned in
the specified buffer.
Description: This function reads characters from standard input, echoes them to
standard output, and places them in the specified buffer until a
carriage return character is seen.
On entry, DS:DX specifies the address of a keyboard input buffer
structure. Location 0 of this structure specifies the maximum
number of characters to return. Location 1 will be filled in by DOS
with the actual number of characters returned. Locations 2-N of
the structure will contain the characters returned.
Characters are read from standard input and placed into the buffer
starting at the third byte until a carriage return (0Dh) character is
read. When the number of characters in the buffer reaches one
fewer than the maximum, additional characters are ignored and
DOS will beep for each character typed until a carriage return
character is seen.


0BH Test Status of Standard Input Device
Entry AH = 0Bh
Exit AL = Standard input status
Description: This function checks to see if a character is waiting to be read
from the standard input device. The return value in AL will be 0 if
no character is waiting. It will be 0FFh if a character is waiting.


0CH Clear Keyboard Buffer and Read Keyboard
Entry AH = 0Ch
Exit AL = keyboard character read
Description: This function will clear the keyboard buffer of any characters
waiting to be read. It will then wait for a character to be entered
and return that character.


0DH Reset Disk Drive
Entry AH = 0Dh
Exit None
Description: This function will flush all disk buffers for open data files by
performing all pending write operations. It does not update
directory entries. This function is normally used by Ctrl-C
interrupt handlers.


0EH Set Default Drive
Entry AH = 0Eh
DL = Drive number (0=A, 1=B, 2=C, etc)
Exit AL = Number of logical drives on the system
Description: This function sets the specified drive as the default drive for disk
operations.


0FH Open File Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


10H Close File Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


11H Search For First Matching File Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


12H Search For Next Matching File Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


13H Delete File Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


14H Sequential Read Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


15H Sequential Write Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


16H Create File Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


17H Rename File Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


19H Return Current Disk Drive
Entry
Exit
Description:


1AH Set Disk Transfer Area
Entry AH = 1Ah
DS:DX = New disk transfer address
Exit None
Description: This function will set the disk transfer address (DTA). This is the
address of the buffer that MS-DOS uses file i/o (using FCBs) and
disk directory searches (with or without using FCBs).


1BH Get Default Drive Allocation Table (FAT)
Entry
Exit
Description:


1CH Get Drive File Allocation Table
Entry
Exit
Description:


21H Random File Read Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


22H Random File Write Using FCB
Entry
Exit
Description:


23H Return Number of Records
Entry
Exit
Description:


24H Set Relative Record Size
Entry
Exit
Description:


25H Set Interrupt Vector
Entry AH = 25h
AL = Interrupt number
DS:DX = Address of new interrupt handler
Exit None
Description: This function will store the value specified by DS:DX into the
interrupt vector table entry specified by AL.


26H Create Program Segment Prefix
Entry
Exit
Description:


27H Random File Block Read
Entry
Exit
Description:


28H Random File Block Write
Entry
Exit
Description:


29H Parse Command Line
Entry
Exit
Description:


2AH Read System Date
Entry AH = 2Ah
Exit AL = Day of week (0=Sunday, 1=Monday, etc)
CX = Year (1980 2099)
DH = Month (1=Jan, 2=Feb, etc)
DL = Day of Month (1 31)
Description: This function will return the current MS-DOS system date.


2BH Set System Date
Entry AH = 2Bh
CX = Year (1980 2099)
DH = Month (1=Jan, 2=Feb, etc)
DL = Day of Month (1 31)
Exit AL = Status (0=Success, 0FFh=Error)
Description: This function will set the current MS-DOS system date to the
specified values.


2CH Read System Time
Entry AH = 2Ch
Exit CH = Hour in 24 hour format (13=1pm, 14=2pm, etc)
CL = Minutes (0 59)
DH = Seconds (0 59)
DL = Hundredths of seconds (0 99)
Description: This function will return the current MS-DOS system time.


2DH Set System Time
Entry AH = 2Dh
CH = Hour (0 23)
CL = Minutes (0 59)
DH = Seconds (0 59)
DL = Hundredths of seconds (0 99)
Exit AL = Status (0=Success, 0FFh=Error)
Description: This function will set the current MS-DOS system time to the
specified value.


2EH Set Disk Write Verify Flag
Entry AH = 2Eh
AL = Flag value (0 = Verify off, 1 = Verify on)
Exit None
Description: This function will set or reset the disk verify after write flag. If the
verify flag is set, MS-DOS will reread and verify the data after
each disk write.


2FH Get Disk Transfer Address
Entry AH = 2Fh
Exit ES:BX = Current disk transfer address
Description: This function will return the current Disk Transfer Address setting.


30H Get DOS Version Number
Entry AH = 30h
AL = Return OEM version or DOS version flags
(0 = OEM version, 1 = DOS version flags)
Exit AL = DOS major version number
AH = DOS minor version number
BH = OEM version number or DOS version flags
BL = High 8 bits of 24 bit user serial number
CX = Low 16 bits of 24 bit user serial number
Description: This function returns the version number of MS-DOS.


31H Terminate and Stay Resident
Entry
Exit
Description:


33H Set Control-Break State
Entry
Exit
Description:


34H Get Address of INDOS Flag
Entry
Exit
Description:


35H Get Interrupt Vector
Entry AH = 35h
AL = Interrupt number
Exit ES:BX = Address of specified interrupt handler
Description: This function will return the contents of the specified interrupt
vector table entry.


36H Determine Free Disk Space
Entry
Exit
Description:


38H Get Country Code
Entry
Exit
Description:


39H Create Subdirectory
Entry AH = 39h
DS:DX = Pointer to name of new directory
Exit CY clear = success, CY set = error
AX = Error code if CY set.
Description: This function creates a new directory. DS:DX points to a zero-
terminated ASCII string that specifies the name of the new
directory to create.


3Ah Delete Subdirectory
Entry AH = 3Ah
DS:DX = Pointer to the name of the directory to delete
Exit CY clear = success, CY set = error
AX = Error code if CY set.
Description: This function will delete a subdirectory entry. DS:DX points to a
zero-terminated ASCII string specifying the name of the directory
to delete. If the specified directory is not empty, error 0005h
(ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED) will be returned.


3Bh Change Current Subdirectory
Entry AH = 3Bh
DS:DX = Pointer to new directory name.
Exit CY clear = success, CY set = error
AX = error code if CY set
Description: This function will change the current directory to the specified
directory. DS:DX points to a zero-terminated ASCII string
specifying the name of the new current directory.


3Ch Create File
Entry AH = 3Ch
CX = Attributes
DS:DX = Pointer to file name
Exit CY clear = success, CY set = error
AX = File handle if CY clear
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function will create a new file in the current directory and
assigns it the next available file handle. If the specified file already
exists, MS-DOS will open it and truncate its length to 0.
The value in CX specifies attribute bits to be associated with the
file. See the File Creation Attributes Table for the meanings of the
various bits.

File Creation Attributes
ATTR_NORMAL (0000h) File can be read from or written to
ATTR_READONLY (0001h) File is read only (can be read but not written)
ATTR_HIDDEN (0002h) File is hidden and does not appear in a
directory listing.
ATTR_SYSTEM (0004h) File is a system file.
ATTR_VOLUME (0008) The File Name is used as a volume name.
ATTR_ARCHIVE (0020h) This file is marked as having been written to.


3DH Open File
Entry AH = 3Dh
AL = Access control
DS:DX = Pointer to the file name
Exit CY clear = success, CY set = error
AX = File handle if CY clear
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function will open the specified file for access. DS:DX points
to a zero-terminated ASCII string specifying the file to open.
When the file is opened, the read/write pointer is set to 0.
The value in AL specifies access control attributes. See the File
Open Access Attributes table for the various settings.

File Open Access Attributes
OPEN_ACCESS_READONLY
(0000h)
Open the file for read only access
OPEN_ACCESS_WRITEONLY
(0001h)
Open the file for write only access
OPEN_ACCESS_READWRITE
(0002h)
Open the file for read/write access
OPEN_SHARE_COMPATIBILITY
(0000h)
Permit other programs to have any
kind of access to the file. This is the
default sharing value.
OPEN_SHARE_DENYREADWRITE
(0010h)
Do not permit any other program to
open the file.
OPEN_SHARE_DENYWRITE
(0020h)
Do not permit any other program to
open the file for write access.
OPEN_SHARE_DENYREAD
(0030h)
Do not permit any other program to
open the file for read access.
OPEN_SHARE_DENYNONE
(0040h)
Permit other programs to have read or
write access, but no program may
open the file for compatibility access.
OPEN_FLAGS_NOINHERIT
(0080h)
A child program created with the Load
and Execute Program Function
(4B00h) does not inherit the file
handle. If this mode is not set, child
programs will inherit the file handle.


3EH Close File
Entry AH = 3Eh
BX = File handle
Exit CY clear = success, CY set = error
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function is used to close a file opened or created with any file
handle function. When this function is processed, any pending
writes to the file will be completed, any locked sections of the file
will be unlocked and the directory will be updated to reflect any
changes to the file size, date or time.


3FH Read File
Entry AH = 3Fh,
BX = File handle
CX = Number of bytes to read
DS:DX = Address of buffer
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Actual number of bytes transferred if CY clear
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function will attempt to read the specified number of bytes
from the file associated with the specified file handle. The data
will be read beginning at the current file point position. Following
the read, the file pointer will be updated to point to the next byte
following the last one transferred. The data will be placed in the
buffer specified by DS:DX
If 0 if returned in AX, the file pointer was at the end of the file at
the beginning of the operation. If the value returned in AX is
greater than zero, but less than the number requested in CX, this
means that the end of the file was reached during the function.


40H Write File
Entry AH = 40h
BX = File handle
CX = Number of bytes to write
DS:DX = Address of buffer
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Actual number of bytes written if CY clear
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function will write up to the specified number of byte to the
file or device associated with the specified file handle.
Data will be written beginning at the current location of the file
pointer. The file pointer will updated to reflect the number of bytes
written.
Writing 0 bytes will truncate the file at the current file pointer
position.
If the number of bytes written is less than requested, the
destination disk is full. The carry flag is not set in the case.


41H Delete File
Entry AH = 41h
DS:DX = Pointer to file name
Exit CY clear = success, CY set = error
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: The function will delete the specified file. DS:DX points to a zero-
terminated ASCII string specifying the name of the file to delete.
This function can not be used to delete a directory, volume label,
or a read-only file.


42H Set File Pointer
Entry AH = 42h
AL = Mode
BX = File handle
CX:DX = File pointer value
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Error code if error
DX:AX = New file pointer position if CY clear
Description: This function is used to move the read/write pointer to a new
position within an open file.
The value is AL is the move method and has the following values:
0 = Move relative to the beginning of the file
1 = Move relative to the current position
2 = Move relative to the end of the file
The value in CX:DX on entry is a 32 bit value used with the mode
to determine the new pointer position. CX contains the upper 16
bits and DX the lower 16 bits of the 32 bit value. For mode 0, this
value is treated as an unsigned value and the pointer cant be
moved before the beginning of the file. For modes 1 and 2, this
value is treated as a signed value and the pointer can be moved
forward or backward within the file.
Using mode 1 or 2, it is possible to move the file pointer before
the beginning of the file. This will not generate an error, but a
subsequent read or write at the position would generate an error.
Using any mode, it is possible to move the pointer beyond the end
of the file. A read at this position would generate an error.
However, a write with the file pointer beyond the end of the file
will cause the file to be extended and the write to occur at that
location.
On return, if successful, DX:AX contains the new file pointer
position value. DX contains the high 16 bits and AX the low 16
bits.



43H Get/Set File Attributes
Entry AH = 43h
AL = Get/Set code (0=Get, 1=Set)
CX = Attributes to set (for AL=1)
DS:DX = Pointer to the file name
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = error code if CY set
CX = File attributes (if CY clear and AL=0)
Description: This function is used to Get or Set the attributes associated with a
file. DS:DX contains the address of a zero-terminated ASCII
string that specifies the file name. AL contains a code to indicate
whether to get the current attributes or set new attributes.
See the File Attributes Table for the meanings of the file attributes
bits.

File Attributes
ATTR_NORMAL (0000h) File can be read from or written to.
ATTR_READONLY (0001h) File is read only and cannot be written to or
deleted.
ATTR_HIDDEN (0002h) File is hidden and does not appear in directory
listings
ATTR_SYSTEM (0004h) File is a system file.
ATTR_VOLUME (0008h) Filename is the current volume label
ATTR_DIRECTORY (0010h) Filename is a directory and not a file.
ATTR_ARCHIVE (0020h) File has been written to.


44H Device I/O Control
Entry
Exit
Description:


45H Duplicate File Handle
Entry AH =45h
BX = File handle to duplicate
Exit CY clear = success, CY set = error
AX = New file handle if CY clear
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function is used to create a new file handle that can be used to
read or write the same file or device as the specified file handle.
When the new handle is created the file pointer will point to the
same location as in the original handle. Either handle can then be
used to read or write the file. A read or write on either handle will
update the pointer for both handles.


46H Force Duplicate File Handle
Entry AH = 46h
BX = File handle to duplicate
CX = New handle for file or device
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function is used to create a duplicate file handle having a
particular value. Either handle can then be used to read or write the
file or device.
If the handle value specified in CX is already in use, that file will
be closed before the handle in BX is duplicated.


47H Get Current Directory
Entry AH = 47h
DL = Drive number
DS:SI = Pointer to buffer
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function will return the path and directory name of the
current directory for the specified drive.
DS:SI points to a buffer to receive the zero-terminated ASCII
string for the current directory name. This must point to a buffer
sufficiently large to hold the largest possible path for the directory
name.


48H Allocate Memory Block
Entry AH = 48h
BX = Number of paragraphs of memory to allocate
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Segment address of allocated memory if CY clear
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function will allocate the requested amount of memory and
return the segment address of the allocated memory block.


49H Free Memory Block
Entry AH = 49h
ES = Segment address of memory block to free
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function will free a memory block allocated via function 48h.


4AH Modify Allocated Memory Block
Entry AH = 4Ah
BX = Requested size in paragraphs
ES = Segment address of memory block to modify
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function is used to modify the size of a memory block
allocates using function 48h.


4BH Load or Execute Program
Entry
Exit
Description:


4CH Terminate Program
Entry AH = 4Ch
AL = Program status code
Exit Does not return
Description: This function is used to terminate execution of a program. The
value passed in AL is a status code that will be saved by DOS and
can be queried by the parent program using function 4Dh.


4DH Get Program Termination Status Code
Entry AH = 4Dh
Exit AH = Termination method
AL = Termination status code
Description: This function can be used by a parent program to determine the
termination status of a child program. The termination status code
will be the value returned by the child program when it terminated.
The value in AH will indicate what caused the child program to
terminate:
00h = Normal termination
01h = Terminated by Ctrl-C
02h = Terminated by critical error
03h = Terminate and stay resident


4EH Find First Matching File
Entry AH = 4Eh
CX = Attributes
DS:DX = Pointer to search string
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
AX = Error code if CY set
Description: This function is used to search a directory for the first file whose
name and attributes match the specified name and attributes.
DS:DX points to a zero terminated ASCII string the specifies the
file or directory to search for. This string may contain wild card
characters.
If the function is successful, a FILEINFO structure at the current
DTA will be filled in with the relevant information.
If the DTA hasnt be explicitly set by a call to function 1Ah, the
default DAT at offset 80h in the PSP will be used.
If the caller specifies any combination of ATTR_SYSTEM,
ATTR_HIDDEN, and ATTR_DIRECTORY, this function will
return normal files as well as files matching those attributes.


4FH Find Next Matching File
Entry AH = 4Fh
Exit CY clear if success, CY set if error
Description: This function is used following a call to function 4Eh (Find First
Matching File) to find the next file in a directory matching the
specified search criteria.
As with function 4Eh, if successful, a FILEINFO structure at the
current DTA will be filled in with the relevant information from
the file found.

The FILEINFO structure has the following form:
FILEINFO struc
FiReserved db 21 dup (?) ;reserved
FiAttribute db ? ;attribute of file found
FiFileTime dw ? ;time of last write
FiFileDate dw ? ;date of last write
FiSize dd ? ;file length
FiFileName db 13 dup (?) ;filename and extension
FILEINFO ends


50H Set Current Program Segment Prefix
Entry AH = 50h
BX = segment address of new PSP
Exit none
Description: This function is used to set a new PSP as the current PSP.


51H Get Current Program Segment Prefix
Entry AH = 51h
Exit BX = segment address of current PSP
Description: This function is used to return the segment address of the Program
Segment Prefix (PSP) for the current program.


54H Get Disk Verify Status
Entry AH = 54h
Exit AL = Current state of disk verify flag
Description: This function is used to obtain the current setting of the DOS disk
verify after write flag.



Entry
Exit
Description:


56H Rename File
Entry
Exit
Description:


57H Read File Date and Time
Entry
Exit
Description:


59H Get Extended Error Code
Entry
Exit
Description:


5AH Create Unique File Name
Entry
Exit
Description:


5BH Create New File
Entry
Exit
Description:


5CH Lock/Unlock File
Entry
Exit
Description:


5DH Set Extended Error Information
Entry
Exit
Description:


67H Set Handle Count
Entry
Exit
Description:


68H Commit File
Entry
Exit
Description:


6CH Extended File Open
Entry
Exit
Description:


File Creation Attributes
ATTR_NORMAL (0000h) File can be read from or written to
ATTR_READONLY (0001h) File is read only (can be read but not written)
ATTR_HIDDEN (0002h) File is hidden and does not appear in a directory
listing.
ATTR_SYSTEM (0004h) File is a system file.
ATTR_VOLUME (0008) The File Name is used as a volume name.
ATTR_ARCHIVE (0020h) This file is marked as having been written to.


File Open Access Attributes
OPEN_ACCESS_READONLY (0000h) Open the file for read only access
OPEN_ACCESS_WRITEONLY (0001h) Open the file for write only access
OPEN_ACCESS_READWRITE (0002h) Open the file for read/write access
OPEN_SHARE_COMPATIBILITY
(0000h)
Permit other programs to have any kind of
access to the file. This is the default sharing
value.
OPEN_SHARE_DENYREADWRITE
(0010h)
Do not permit any other program to open
the file.
OPEN_SHARE_DENYWRITE (0020h) Do not permit any other program to open
the file for write access.
OPEN_SHARE_DENYREAD (0030h) Do not permit any other program to open
the file for read access.
OPEN_SHARE_DENYNONE (0040h) Permit other programs to have read or write
access, but no program may open the file
for compatibility access.
OPEN_FLAGS_NOINHERIT (0080h) A child program created with the Load and
Execute Program Function (4B00h) does
not inherit the file handle. If this mode is
not set, child programs will inherit the file
handle.