MS-DOS

Company / developer Programmed in OS family Working state Source model Initial release Discontinued Microsoft Corporation Assembly language[1] DOS Discontinued/Historic Closed source 1981 8.0 / September 14, 2000; 12 years ago

Available language(s)

Multilanguage

Available programming languages(s)

Assembly Language, C, Pascal, QBasic, Batch, etc.

Supported platforms Kernel type Default user interface License

x86 Monolithic kernel Command-line interface, Text user interface Proprietary

INTRODUCTION
MS-DOS ( /msds/ EM-es-DOSS; short for Microsoft Disk Operating System) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating systems offering a graphical user interface (GUI), in particular by various generations of the Microsoft Windows operating system. MS-DOS grew from a 1981 request by IBM for an operating system for its IBM PC range of personal computers. Microsoft quickly bought the rights to QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System), also known as 86-DOS,[2] from Seattle Computer Products, and began work on modifying it to meet IBM's specification. The first edition, MS-DOS 1.0, was launched in 1982.[3] The version shipped with IBM's PCs was called PC DOS. Although MS-DOS and PC DOS were initially developed in parallel by Microsoft and IBM, the two products eventually went their separate ways. During its life, several competing products were released for the x86 platform,[4] and MS-DOS itself would go through eight versions, until development ceased in 2000. Ultimately it was the key product in Microsoft's growth from a programming languages company to a diverse software development firm, providing the company with essential revenue and marketing resources. It was also the underlying basic operating system on which early versions of Windows ran as a GUI.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS
The following versions of MS-DOS were released to the public:[6][7]

MS-DOS 1.x o Version 1.12 (OEM) - Compaq release of PC DOS 1.10 [8] o Version 1.19 (OEM) - Zenith OEM o Version 1.25 (OEM) - Microsoft repackaging of PC DOS 1.10

MS-DOS 2.x - Support for 10 MB hard disk drives and tree-structure filing system o Version 2.0 (OEM) o Version 2.1 (OEM) o Version 2.11 (OEM)

MS-DOS 3.x o Version 3.0 (OEM) - Support for FAT16 o Version 3.1 (OEM) - Support for Microsoft Networks o Version 3.2 (OEM) o Version 3.21 (OEM) o Version 3.25 (OEM) o Version 3.3 (OEM) o Version 3.3a (OEM) o Version 3.31 (OEM) - Compaq MS-DOS 3.31 supports FAT16B and larger drives.

MS-DOS 4.x - includes a graphical/mouse interface. o Version 4.00 (OEM) o Version 4.01 (OEM) - IBM patched Version 4.00 before Microsoft released it. First version to introduce volume serial number when formatting hard disks and floppy disks (Disk duplication also).[9] o Version 4.01a (OEM)

MS-DOS 5.x o Version 5.0 (Retail) - includes a full-screen editor. A number of bugs required reissue. o Version 5.0a (Retail) - With this release, IBM and Microsoft versions diverge. o Version 5.0.500 (WinNT) - All Windows NT 32-bit versions ship with files from DOS 5.0

MS-DOS 6.x o Version 6.0 (Retail) - Online help through QBASIC. Disk compression and antivirus included. o Version 6.1 (none) - IBM and Microsoft alternate DOS 6 versions. IBM released 6.3 also. o Version 6.2 (Retail) - Scandisk as replacement for CHKDSK. Fix serious bugs in DBLSPACE. o Version 6.21 (Retail) - Stacker-infringing DBLSPACE removed. o Version 6.22 (Retail) - New DRVSPACE compression.

MS-DOS 7.x o Version 7.0 (Win95, 95A) - Support for VFAT long file names. New editor. JO.SYS is an alternative filename of the IO.SYS kernel file and used as such for "special purposes". JO.SYS allows booting from CD-ROM to hard disk. o Version 7.1 (Win95B - Win98SE) - Support for FAT32 file system. Last general purpose DOS to load Windows.

MS-DOS 8.0 o Version 8.0 (WinME) - Integrated drivers for faster Windows loading. Four different kernels (IO.SYS) observed. o Version 8.0 (WinXP) - DOS boot disks created by XP and later contain files from WinME. The internal command prompt still reports version 5.0

DOS Memory Management

Relatively simple job because its managing single job for single user. Uses a firstfit memory allocation scheme since it is most efficient strategy in a single-user environment.

DOS Main Memory Allocation

First versions had simple contiguous memory allocation scheme that gave all of the available memory to resident application program. Applications couldnt dynamically allocate memory blocks. MS-DOS Version 2.0 supported dynamic allocation, modification, & release of main memory blocks by applications. Amount of memory each application owns depends on type of file from which program is loaded & size of TPA. Programs.COM -- given all of TPA, whether or not they need it. Programs.EXE -- given amount of memory they need.

Memory Block Allocation

Allocates memory by using first-fit algorithm & linked list of memory blocks. With Version 3.3, MS-DOS started using best-fit or last-fit strategy. Size of a block can vary from 16 bytes (paragraph) to maximum available memory.

Free/Busy Block List

1. Whenever request for memory comes in, DOS looks through free/busy block list to find free block that fits. If list becomes disconnected, system stops & must be rebooted. 2. Well-designed application program releases memory block it no longer needed.

Process Management
MS-DOS doesnt support multitasking. Programs cant break out of middle of DOS internal routine & restart routine from somewhere else. There's no interleaving & no need for sophisticated algorithms or policies to determine which job will run next or for how long.

Interrupt Handlers Are Responsible for Synchronizing Processes

PC has 256 interrupts & interrupt handlers, & they are accessed via interrupt vector table. Three types of interrupts: 1. Internal hardware interrupts -- generated by certain events occurring during programs execution (e.g., division by zero). 2. External hardware interrupts -- caused by peripheral device controllers or by coprocessors & assigned by manufacturers. 3. Software interrupts -- generated by system & application programs to access DOS & BIOS functions, which, in turn, access system resources.

Device Management
Ability to reorder requests to optimize seek & search time is not a feature of DOS because its designed for a single-user environment. All requests are handled on a first-come first-served basis. Since version 3.0, BIOS can support spooling so users can schedule several files to be printed one after the other. MS-DOS written for simple systems using keyboard, monitor, printer, mouse, 1-2 serial ports, & maybe second printer. Devices do not require special management from OS. Device drivers are the only items needed by Device Manager to make system work. A device driver is a software module that controls an I/O device and handles its interrupts.

File Management
Earliest versions of MS-DOS kept every file in a single directory. Version 2.0 implemented hierarchical directory structure. When disk is formatted, its tracks are divided into sectors of 512 bytes. 2-8 sectors are grouped into clusters & that's how File Manager allocates space to files.

FORMAT Creates Three Special Areas on Disk

1. Boot record -- first sector of every logical disk & contains disk boot program & table of disk's characteristics. 2. Root directory -- Lists systems primary subdirectories & files (name, extension, size, date & time of modification, starting cluster #, file attribute codes). 3. FAT (File Allocation Table) -- contains status info about disks sectors: which are allocated, which are free, and which cant be allocated because of errors.