Subj : Re: REPOST: Re: 4BATFAQ Update To : R.A.G. Seely From : Steve Date : Tue Jan 29 2002 08:38 pm From: "E. S. (Steve) Fabian" "R.A.G. Seely" wrote: > I was discussing this with a collegue today, who still has a copy (archived > - I wouldn't want you to think he still uses it! :-)) of the (un-numbered) > MSDOS v.1 (it was so numbered only when the next version appeared!), which > came with very complete documentation. In that documentation, there is > apparently considerable explanation of how one might write a command > interpreter to replace the one that was supplied with that version of DOS, > and it was clear that that was expected to be something many/some users > would want to do. (The command.com that came with it was about 5K in size - > not a lot of utility there!) He also recalled that the machine came with a > cassette drive, and if you booted without attaching an (external) floppy, > the UI you ended up with would be what they called "cassette BASIC" (there > was also a "Floppy BASIC" which you would use off a floppy). From this UI, > you could write and run BASIC programmes, of course - not a lot else ... > So: not only did they envisage that users might write their own command > interpreter, but the UI one frequently ended up with wasn't COMMAND.COM. > I'd take all that as a strong indicator that from the start, COMMAND.COM > wasn't seen by its creators as an integral part of MSDOS, but just as an > add-on which made DOS immediately usable. Thank you for this additonal validation of my point of view. One should also note that the ROM BIOS of the early IBM PCs (and clones, too) included an interpreted version of BASIC, which was the technical contribution from Bill Gates. The rest, i.e., PC-DOS itself (as it was then called) was adaptation of software by others which he bought from other parties and which emulated CP/M. -- E. S. "Steve" Fabian ESFabian@BellAtlantic.net POB 1540, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 Telephone: 856-354-1752 EMPIRE Consultants, Inc. Director, Software Development ------------------------------------------------------------------- --- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-2 * Origin: Mach2 Systems (1:342/3) .