MS-DOS is an operating system that used to be very popular. However, now it is being replaced with software like Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and UNIX.
Microsoft disk operating system, or MS-DOS, is a single-user single tasking operating system. This means that it is specifically designed for one person to use at any given time. Also, that person can only perform one task at one time. For example, they could not have open a word processor and an Internet browser at the same time. They could work in the word processor, then close up that application, and then open up the Internet browser.
History:
Tim Patterson, a worker at Seattle Computer Products, Inc., first came up with the concept of MS-DOS in the 1970s. Then, Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation bought the rights to Patterson's application, and called it MS-DOS, or Microsoft disk operating system.
MS-DOS was first introduced to the world in 1981 as a part of one of IBM's early personal computers. Since then, it had become increasingly popular. However, as computers have become more and more advanced, MS-DOS has decreased in popularity, to be replaced by more sophisticated operating systems like Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX.
3 Major Components of MS-DOS:
1. Command Interpreter
Most personal computers today have operating systems that support graphical user interface, or GUI. This is a type of interface where different icons and images are used to represent different files and applications. The user merely has to point and click on the icons of the program that they wish to access!
However, MS-DOS does not use this user-friendly graphical user interface. Instead, it uses a type of interface called command-driven interface. This is when the user has to type in words, letters, or lines. Then, what the user types in is translated into a language that the computer can understand. For example, the user might type in the word "COPY," followed by a few words that describes that exactly it is they want to copy. The operating system will translate these commands, and then the computer will carry them out. Other commands might be used to reformat disks and to organize and manage files.
The command interpreter takes the commands that you give to your computer and sees that they are carried out. It interprets your commands and handles the technical details involved in your computer system!
2. DOS Shell
Now, there are newer versions of MS-DOS. These actually have a visually oriented interface. It has a menu-type screen, and lists the files and directories that you have on your computer. This makes it easy for you to keep track of the programs stored in your computer system!
3. DOS Utilities
Inside the MS-DOS operating system is a collection of services that DOS provides for the applications and programs you are running. This makes it so that for an application to be successfully run, it doesn't have to know all of the nitty gritty details about how all the hardware works and everything. This way, one application can be designed to work in all sorts of computers systems!
Continue on to the next section:
Microsoft Windows
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