Disk Operating System

Binup KC
What is DOS?

 DOS stands for Disk Operating System.

 the first widely installed operating system for personal computers.
 designed to operate on machines using the Intel line of 8086
microprocessors
 Single user, single tasking system
 Kernel Functions are non-reentrant (only one program at a time can use
them)
 DOS controls the computer’s hardware and provides an environment for
programs to run.
 Provides services for basic input/output services (BIOS), print services,
and file services.
 MS-DOS cannot support a large network of users.
 preferred operating system for most of the Intel processor (currently Pentium)
based PCs of the world.
 Closely related to UNIX and CP/M.
 interact more directly with the components of the computer than you can with
more modern operating systems.
 do things which are difficult or impossible to accomplish through the graphical
interface.
History of DOS

 The CP/M
 IBM/PC hiring Microsoft
 Microsoft hiring Seattle
 QDOS(Quick and Dirty Operating System)
 Microsoft’s acquisition of DOS
 Ms-DOS
DOS Boot Sequence
DOS Kernel

 two hidden files at boot time:

 io.sys : default device drivers
 msdos.sys : system file, comprises DOS kernel
 load at the time of startup
 are not rebuildable or alterable
 kernel cannot be changed
 Command.com: starts the command processor
DOS Batch language

 .BAT extension
 executable by the command processor
 support conditional statements and variables (eg, if time = next_day
then...).
System Configuration in DOS

 How the system is configured in DOS

 What functions are loaded in startup
 Device drivers
 Startup Programs
CONFIG.SYS

 loading installable device drivers

 other system parameters which must run at boot time
AUTOEXEC.BAT

 starts applications automatically for the user

 handles logins for network software
 places information in the PC’s environment
DOS Commands

 DOS consist of a series of a program designed to control the computer

resources.
 DOS commands have three parts: File name, parameters, switches.
 Mostly these commands consist of regular English word like words.
 For example ERASE,COPY,DEL,PRINT etc.
 Types:
 Internal
 External
DOS Internal Commands

 DOS internal commands are stored in the COMMAND.COM file.

 DOS internal command are loaded automatically into the memory (RAM) when
you start your systems.
 These includes the simpler and common commands that are needed on regular
basis.
 Internal commands are the part of COMMAND.COM
Some DOS internal command are:
 CLS –clear the screen.
 VER – Display the DOS version number.
 VOL –Displays the volume label and serial.
 TYPE –Display the contents of a text .
 Exit –Exit the command processor
DOS External Commands

 Second type of DOS Commands is External command.

 DOS External Command required less frequently.
 These are reside on disk.
 Loaded automatically into memory (RAM) only when needed.
Some DOS External Commands are:-
 CHKDSK – Check the validity of disk and reports the total space, number of
files and amount of free space.
 COMP – Compare the content of two sets of files.
 COMMAND – Starts the command processor.
 SYS –Creates a bootable drive.
Major Tasks of DOS

The major tasks the DOS must carry out are:-

 Manage I/O
 reads input from the standard input
 writes output to the standard output
 treats devices as files
 output of a command or program canbe piped to another command or program
 File Management
 requires only a pointer to the data buffer, and a count of the number of bytes to be read
or written in order to do I/O
 Executable files: .COM format or the .EXE format
 To enable user to load and execute program.
 To maintain an orderly system of data on the disk.
File Management

 maintains a table that relates handles to files or devices.

 This table is in CONFIG.SYS file
 File System
 Uses File Allocation Table (FAT) system.
 Originally FAT12 (4078 clusters per drive) => FAT16 (65518 clusters per drive) =>
FAT32 (137GB and beyond)
 Reduce amount of seeking
 Designed to support hard drives
 Four sections: Boot Sector, FAT region, Data region, Root Directory region.
 Diminish wear and tear of hard drive
 8.3 filenames: (8 letter filename, 3 letters extension)
 Starting with DOS 2 hierarchical directories are supported.
 Reserved filenames: CON (for console), AUX (for auxiliary), PRN[36] (for
printer) and LST (for lister)
File Allocation Table
DOS files

 BAT (batch files):

 consist of series of command to be executed by compiled line interpreter
, stored in plain text
 branching and looping within the file ,such as IF, FOR, GOTO and LABEL.
 COM (command files):
 It consist of collection of internal and external command.
 EXE (executable files):
 It is the file that the computer can directly execute.
Disk Management

 drives are referred to by identifying letters

 A" and "B" for floppy drives
 Hard drives were originally assigned the letters "C" and "D“
 only support one active partition per drive
 Assign drive letter to each drive's active primary partition first
 then make a second pass over the drives to allocate letters to logical
drives in the extended partition.
 Lastly, DOS allocates letters for optical disc drives, RAM disks, and other
hardware
Graphical Capabilities

 Make use of GRAPHICS command

 Syntax:
 GRAPHICS [printer type][profile] [/B][/R][/LCD][/PB:(id)] [/C][/F][/P(port)]
 Direct interface with display hardware
 Libraries were rare
 Languages used: C, PASCAL, Assembly
Memory Management

 could only directly access a maximum of 1 MB of RAM

 maximum of 640 KB (known as conventional memory) is available as the
upper 384 KB is reserved
 Memory areas
 Conventional Memory
 Upper Memory Area
 Expanded Memory
Memory management

 Memory Organization:
 i. Interrupt vector table
 ii. Optional extra space (used by IBM for ROM data area
 iii. IO.SYS
 iv. MSDOS.SYS
 v. Buffers, control areas, and installed device drivers
 vi. Resident part of COMMAND.COM
 vii. External commands or utilities (.COM and .EXE files are loaded here)
 viii. User stack for .COM Files (256 bytes)
 ix. Transient part of COMMAND.COM
DOS Emulators

 DOSBox
 MAME
 NeoRage (X)
THANK YOU!