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MS - Dos

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MS - Dos

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akankshabhardwaj111
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MS - DOS

MS - DOS

MS-DOS (Microsoft-Disk Operating System)


 The DOS OS was developed by Microsoft in 1980 for microcomputers.
 MS-DOS was the first operating system that run on PC developed by IBM corporation in
1981.
 DOS is a single user operating system.
 It was gradually superseded by operating systems offering a graphical user interface
(GUI) in various graphical Microsoft Windows operating system generations.

Features of DOS
 Here are some of the distinguishing features of a disk operating system, such as -:
o MS-DOS does not offer GUI (Graphical User Interface) and does not accept mouse
inputs. It is a character-based interface system where all commands are entered in
the text at the command-line prompt.
o A disk operating system manages files, folders and allows program loading and
execution. It can control hardware devices such as disk, memory and allocate
resources.
o MS-DOS offers a file system to organize, read and write files to the disk storage.
o It is a single-user operating system and performs various tasks to ensure the proper
operation of systems.
o It uses a 16-bit file allocation table (FAT16), and a 16-bit interface is used to define
the location of the memory of each file uniquely. These identifiers are stored in a
tabular format with the name File Allocation table.
o MS-DOS does not support a multiuser operating system, and it is less secure and
does not have a concept of user roles. It is very lightweight due to its basic interface
and limited features.

Limitations of MS-DOS
 Here are the following limitations of the disk operating system, such as -:
o Built-in security:DOS does not have built-in security, such as file ownership and
permissions.
o No multiuser or multitasking:It also does not support multiuser or multitasking. It
can only run one program at a time, but it provides direct access to the basic I/O
system and underlying hardware.
o Challenging interface: A user must type in commands and remember commands
to run programs and other OS tasks. For example, typing the command cd
\directory_name changes the current working directory to the named directory, and
typing the command dir lists the files in the current directory. This approach makes it
difficult for beginners to use.

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Structure of DOS
There are four essential programs associated with the control of computer and the way it
interacts with them.
 The Boot Record It includes loading the operating system into main memory. It is the
main program of MS-DOS.
 The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS. sys) It provides an interface between the
hardware and programs.
 The MSDOS. sys Program It is a collection of program routines and data tables that
provides high level programs such as application programs.
 The Command.com Program It provides a standard set of commands that gives
users access to file management, configuration and miscellaneous functions.

Configuration of DOS
Config. sys, Autoexec. bat and files provide the environment to computer to set commands.
I. Config. sys It adjusts the system according to commands.
II. Autoexec.bat When the system is powered on, this file executes in automatically
command line.

Important Extensions and their Meaning


Extensions Meaning
.exe Executable files
.com Command files
.bat Batch files
.doc Document files
.txt Text files
.prg Program files
.ovr Over lays
.sys System files

What is Spooling
 Spooling is a process in which data is temporarily held to be used and executed by a
device, program, or system. Data is sent to and stored in memory or other volatile
storage until the program or computer requests it for execution.
 SPOOL is an acronym for simultaneous peripheral operations online. Generally, the
spool is maintained on the computer's physical memory, buffers, or the I/O device-
specific interrupts. The spool is processed in ascending order, working based on a FIFO
(first-in, first-out) algorithm.

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How Spooling Works in Operating System


 In an operating system, spooling works in the following steps, such as:
 Spooling involves creating a buffer called SPOOL, which is used to hold off jobs and
data till the device in which the SPOOL is created is ready to make use and execute that
job or operate on the data.
 When a faster device sends data to a slower device to perform some operation, it uses
any secondary memory attached as a SPOOL buffer.
 This data is kept in the SPOOL until the slower device is ready to operate on this data.
When the slower device is ready, then the data in the SPOOL is loaded onto the main
memory for the required operations.
Example of Spooling
 The biggest example of Spooling is printing. The documents which are to be printed are
stored in the SPOOL and then added to the queue for printing. During this time, many
processes can perform their operations and use the CPU without waiting while the
printer executes the printing process on the documents one-by-one.
Types of MS-DOS Commands
There are two kinds of MS-DOS command -:
1. Internal Commands
• These commands are automatically loaded into main memory when the booting
process gets completed.
• e.g. DATE, TIME, VER, VOL, DIR, COPY, CLS, etc.
2. External Commands
• These commands require external files to be loaded in the computer to run.
• e.g. Checking disk, comparing disk, formatting, etc.

Important Commands and their Uses -:

Commands Description
CALL Call one batch program from another
CD Change Directory-move to a specific folder
CLS Clear the screen
COPY Copy one or more files to another location
DATE Display or set the date
DEL Delete one or more files
DIR Display a list of files and folders
ERASE Delete one or more files

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EDIT View and edit files


EXIT Quit the current script/routine and set an error level
FORMAT To erase and prepare the disk drive
IF Conditionally perform a command
MD Create new folders
MOVE Move files from one folder to another
PATH Display or set a search path for executable files
PRINT Prints data to a printer port
REN Rename a file or directory
RD Remove an empty directory
SORT Sort input and displays the output to the screen
START Start a program, command or batch file
TIME Display or set the system time
TYPE Display the contents of a text file
VER Display version information
XCOPY Copy multiple files, directories, or drives from one
location to another

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