Does anyone here still use DOS?

[Perhaps Today]

I was curious if anyone here was still using DOS operating systems or utilities for anything. I've noticed after all these years there are still DOS operating systems and whatnot being programmed. I was curious if it was just a hobbyist thing or if it was more than that. I do find it rather intriguing. Also is it a good place to start if one was to learn how to program?

 

[EphesiaNZ]

The command line (DOS) has always been popular with geeks, as is the command line in Linux too. You could learn some basic programming by writing a few DOS batch files etc, but I would start programming in something like Python or Visual Basic (as well as many more languages) - depending on what you require from them.

 

[ChrisWiegman]

Until XP DOS was actually the underlying operating system of consumer versions of Windows (95, 98, ME). Since XP however it has been replaced completely and is only emulated by the Windows command line. So, to answer your question, no, DOS is no longer used except for a few hobbyists who run very old computers for one purpose or another.

 

[Perhaps Today]

The command line (DOS) has always been popular with geeks, as is the command line in Linux too. You could learn some basic programming by writing a few DOS batch files etc, but I would start programming in something like Python or Visual Basic (as well as many more languages) - depending on what you require from them.

From my understanding some versions of Linux require some major command line skills. But it does give the user more control as well. Unlike Windows which only lets you do what the folks at MS have determined.

As far as programming goes, I've heard of both languages (among hordes of others), and I'm certain there's a few different types of BASIC. First I'd like to know how things actually function, which was one of the reasons why I thought DOS would be something to consider, due to having to configure everything.

 

[Perhaps Today]

Until XP DOS was actually the underlying operating system of consumer versions of Windows (95, 98, ME). Since XP however it has been replaced completely and is only emulated by the Windows command line. So, to answer your question, no, DOS is no longer used except for a few hobbyists who run very old computers for one purpose or another.

I can see retro computing having somewhat of an audience, especially among gamers.

 

[Qyöt27]

From my understanding some versions of Linux require some major command line skills. But it does give the user more control as well. Unlike Windows which only lets you do what the folks at MS have determined.

The reason that Linux distros might require those skills has less to do with it being required and more to do with it being simpler to instruct for. Also because it's generally the first component of setting up a system (as the kernel, userland, and the Terminal used to interface with them are the actual core of the system, and the display stuff merely sits on top of it). The most popular distros - Ubuntu, Fedora, etc. - don't generally require Terminal usage, as opposed to distros targeted to power users, like Slackware, Gentoo, or Arch.

Windows' user limitations are primarily centered on the source code of the OS itself. Beyond that, the user has as much control as they want to take for themselves. I mention this because the average Linux user is in exactly the same boat - they just work with what they're given, and don't dive into the guts of the OS and tweak or change things (and for that matter, I'd even say most expert users and programmers that develop on Linux don't either - just because you can do something, doesn't mean you will do it). The biggest fundamental difference there is simply that for Linux, the option for them to learn how to do so and take the initiative to work on the core components is there, whereas with Windows it's not (unless you get a job working in a Microsoft dev team). Although, the NT platform itself is being reverse-engineered by the ReactOS and Wine projects, who have no connection to MS.

As far as programming goes, I've heard of both languages (among hordes of others), and I'm certain there's a few different types of BASIC. First I'd like to know how things actually function, which was one of the reasons why I thought DOS would be something to consider, due to having to configure everything.

Knowing how to operate command line utilities doesn't really have anything to do with programming (except for writing shell/batch scripts, but that's not the kind of programming language that most software is composed of). If you're going about this using gcc as your compiler, then you probably will need to use the command line to operate the process of making the source code into a usable program, and this is also somewhat true of other scripting languages like Python or Perl - you're most likely to use said scripts from the Terminal rather than them being a graphical application (although it is possible to make graphical applications with Python - Meld, for instance, or games using the Ren'Py engine).

 

[adrianmonk]

I use DOSBox to play my old DOS games. If you use a Mac you can get Boxer which is DOSBox with a bundled easy to use GUI to install your old DOS games.

 

[C-Man]

I've got three fully functional DOS computers, a 286, a 386 and a 486. All were fairly high-end for their times. I've even run a USB card and a wireless internet adapter on the 486 just to see what would happen. It wasn't too awful fast, but it worked well enough. They're all good computers for old DOS games, and they're great fun to go back to once in a while. There's just some indefinable quality that DOSBox lacks for me.

 

[adrianmonk]

The only use I have had for booting into DOS was to update the BIOS (why they still need to use DOS on floppy images these days for BIOS updates still baffles me)

I found FreeDOS works great for that.

 

[Earnesterin]

Actually, I just put together a system yesterday running DR-DOS and automatically boots up to a commodore 64 emulator.Well, I was just wondering, does anyone here still run DOS other than me? It may not have all that many features (although DR-DOS/OpenDOS do) but it seems to be the most stable thing ever written for the PC, except perhaps the Linux kernel. Plus, it plays all kinds of games that don't work on more "modern" systems.

 

[tannicv2]

I've written a couple .bat lines to help with configuration management of a development environment. I'm always using command prompt to check IP and trouble shooting network problems. ipconfig /release and /renew. I've also used the linux bash shell to search for files. I didn't get into developing from the shell but I hope I'll be there soon.

 

[852derek852]

I dont use it, but there is a reason to use dos. dos runs in real mode, giving you absolute control over the computer. Any hardware you plug in can be controled directly from a program, rather than through the opperating system. I think varients of dos are still occasionaaly used in embeded systems that use intel processors.

for stuff like dos games & programs, people usually use emulators like dosbox