Activity 1 DOS

DOS Command Prompt mean?

The DOS command prompt is a critical part of the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS)
command line interface. It is the fundamental setting for the interface, where the prompt sets
the stage for executing command lines of code. There are two categories of DOS command,
the internal and external command. Once the computer is turn on, all the internal command is
set to be available while external command is disk resident meaning, it is use to manipulate
data and files in secondary storage.

Perform the following command

1. Run the COMMAND PROMPT

2. Type CD\
3. Issue the different command and display the output

Internal DOS Format Description

Command
DIR
MD
CD
RD
REN
COPY
DEL
TYPE
TIME
PATH
COPY CON
VOL
CLS
4. State the command on how to produce the following hierarchy using DOS
command

Name1
Name2
Notepad1.txt
Name3
Name4
 Name5
Name 6
Notepad2.txt
5. Issue the different command and display the output
External DOS Format Description
Command
RESTORE

BACKUP

CHKDSK

FIND

DISKCOPY
TREE

DELTREE

FORMAT
II. Essay. Why do we need to understand the basic DOS command if we are using
Windows?

DOS and windows

The biggest advantage that DOS has over Windows is that it is
free. Some versions of DOS might be proprietary, but the owners
of these versions are highly unlikely to sue due to the age of DOS.
The second advantage is its utter simplicity. While Windows
needs gigabytes of memory to work, DOS just needs a single
megabyte to work. The simplicity and cost-free nature of DOS
makes it ideal for prototyping, testing, and making automated
systems that are only checked when something goes wrong with
it. Since only a technician looks into the system, there is no need
for fancy GUIs. It’s simplicity also means that the cost for the
system is reduced because you do not need to put fancy hardware
in order to run it.

DOS is an obsolete operating system while Windows isn’t

Windows has a GUI while DOS doesn’t
Windows supports the latest hardware while DOS doesn’t
DOS is free while Windows isn’t
DOS is very lightweight compared to Windows

There are various versions of Windows releases for the pasts years and it has many
iterations. MS DOS provides a fixed specification for application software which is
easily ported to all versions of Windows and to other systems as well. DOS is widely
used for mission critical applications in many industries. Using DOS will result in
significant loss of functionality in porting the application to windows or other web
app.

While DOS has limitations, programs written in DOS are still widely used for mission critical
applications in many industries. I support a DOS application today, as the options to port
the application to Windows or to a web app would result in significant loss of functionality.
Instead, I run this program using the vDos emulator on all versions of Windows.

If MS-DOS disappeared tomorrow, there would be numerous systems around the world
which would stop working, and many businesses which would close. One might see this as a
legacy issue, but it remains a significant part of computer software infrastructure.