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INTRODUCTION TO DOS

Disk Operating System manages your computers resources. The part of DiskOperating System that controls the hardware such as the video screen, keyboard,mouse, disks and printer is the Kernel. A second part of Disk Operating System thatinterprets your commands and causes the kernel to do what you want is called theCommand Interpreter.The command interpreter converts commands you enter at the command prompt totheir required form and gives them to the kernel.The Disk Operating System shell is actually an interface between you and thecommand interpreter that provides an easy way to enter commands. Each time DiskOperating System is started, the command prompt is automatically displayed on your

Screen.

C:\>This line may be the only one on the screen. When the Disk Operating System shellis first set up and is waiting for your command, the Start Programs screen appears.

BASIC DOS COMMANDS

CD (OR CHDIR) Changes the current directory at the command promptFormat CD\CD ..

DATE Displays and sets DateFormat DATE

WINDOWS

A window is a boxed area in which you view programs, files, folders, drives, iconsrepresenting programs, files or folders and other elements. Most windows can beopened,closed, sized, reduced, enlarged, moved or positioned on the desktop.

What is Windows NT?Windows NT is a foundation upon which Microsoft networking rests. Windows NTis a 32-bit preemptive, Multitasking operating system that belongs to Microsoft Windowsfamily of operating system. It comes in two versions.

Windows NT Work Station :- Designed to work as member of Windows NTwork group. It is aimed towards users who need a reliable operating system

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with a high level security.

Windows NT Server :- Same as Windows NT work station but with addedfeatures that enable it to work as a network operating system.

Windows NT is a secure operating system with a graphical interface. It is not a

revision of any other Windows Operating System. This is a complete true operatingsystem is itself, not relying on Disk Operating System for lower level functions. WhenWindows NT starts up in a computer. It starts up immediately in Windows NT.

Windows NT features

PortabilityMultitasking OperationsMultithreading OperationsFile Systems

File Allocation Table (FAT) used with Disk Operating System

New Technology File System (NTFS) introduced by Windows NTVirtual File Allocation Table (VFAT) introduced by Windows 95SecuritySupport for many clientsMultiprocessor SupportCompatibility with Applications

Unix

UNIX consists of a large number of ideas, too many for a single person to master ina lifetime.

it was considered a product for the Engineering and Scientific community. Later, it madesignificant inroads into large Corporations and Government Organizations where itsrobustness established it on the operating system of choice for database work (ExampleOracle, Sybase & Informix) The Internet is the third and most significant phase of theUNIX cycle. Even though the people say that UNIX was died, most servers on the netare UNIX machines. Internet Service Providers use UNIX machines.UNIX operating system was written in C in1973.

UNIX is popular for the following reasons:

The system is written in a High Level Language, making it easy to read,understand, change, and move to other machines.

It uses a hierarchical File System that allows easy maintenance and efficientimplement

It has a simple user interface that has the power to provide the service thatusers want.

It provide a simple, consistent interface to peripheral devices.

It is a multi-user, multiprocessor System, each user can execute severalProcesses simultaneously.

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It hides the machine architecture from the user, making it easier to writeprogram that run on different Hardware implementations.

UNIX is a multitasking operating system, You can be performing two tasks

simultaneously.

UNIX has networking built in environment.

What is LINUX?

LINUX is a free Operating System that was created by Linus Torvalds when hewas a student as the University of Helsinki in 1991. Torvalds started Linux by writing akernel, which is the heart of the operating system,In the 1980s and 1990s, while Microsoft flooded the world with personal computersrunning DOS and Windows operating systems, power users demanded more from anoperating system. They ached for system that could run on networks, support many

users at once (multiuser), and run many programs at once (multitasking).

Features of LINUX

Multi userMultitaskingGraphical User Interface(X Window System)Hardware supportNetworking connectivity

Application support