China DOS Union

Are we using DOS just for the sake of DOS? With Windows, this powerful DOS software, why spend all day in the command line?

The reason I still keep MS-DOS 6.22 is entirely out of interest in the command-line way and a bit of nostalgia.

The human-computer interaction in DOS still counts as using language (that is, commands), while Windows turns all of this into point-and-click gestures (that is, the mouse). Isn't that a kind of step backward???

Because in Windows, I feel there is a big distance between the person and the software, or between the person and the system. In Windows, everything feels like black-box operation; everything is hidden under windows, or under the interface. Back when I had just switched from DOS to Windows, I didn't even know how to change file attributes. Windows is simple, yes, everything is done by pointing and clicking, but if you don't know where to point or where to click, it's still a huge headache.
But with DOS, there are only a dozen or so commonly used commands, and if you know them you can handle most operations...
DOS trains your ability to learn, while Windows, in my opinion, is a fool's system. Maybe even people who don't understand computers very well can still play with it! Lots of people get really into chatting on QQ, lots of people get really into playing Red Alert, and now that "Legend" game too—if you just put a shortcut for the "Legend" game on the desktop, anyone can play! But in other areas they may know nothing at all. DOS is different: back then, people who were experts at DOS games were almost all DOS experts too.

Now Windows is all the rage, and I come here to use DOS and join a DOS forum not because I'm going retro, but because so many people don't understand DOS, and when they need to do something related to DOS they panic and don't know what to do. So I want to promote DOS a bit, popularize DOS a bit, and solve some of our friends' doubts. That's one of my reasons for joining the forum. Just my personal view.

Besides, learning DOS is beneficial.
I saw a pirated copy of the Wuyou boot disk and thought it was made very well. I had just bought a CD writer, so I wanted to learn to make one myself. A few days later, I succeeded. If I didn't still have a bit of a DOS foundation, it wouldn't have been so easy to learn... Hehe...

Learn some DOS, and you'll be prepared for anything. I think if you're going to use computers, you should still understand a little DOS. After all, it's the foundation. As for whether you use DOS or not, that's up to you! (I use Windows 2000 myself too.)

It should be said that DOS, Windows, and other operating systems all have their own meaning and value, and each has its own user base. Therefore, every kind of system should keep developing and make things more convenient for its users.

I develop DOS software because there are some things that are easy to do under Windows but inconvenient or impossible to do under DOS, so I develop them for DOS. That way, after the Windows system crashes, I can boot with a floppy disk under DOS and do many things that otherwise could only be done under Windows. That's very helpful for restoring a Windows system.

Many people, especially people overseas, develop DOS software because of DOS's power and practicality. FreeDOS and its software are the most typical examples. Of course, here in China, DOS development lags far behind foreign countries, so it has not reached that level.

Whether it's good or not is secondary! As long as it's useful, that proves it has value!

I learned DOS because many DOS programs are compact and practical. For example, when dealing with disks, a single floppy disk can handle most problems on a microcomputer. But I also feel that memorizing DOS commands really is a headache, especially the parameters for DOS commands. As for DOS applications, just as the moderator said, DOS should keep up with the times. Personally, I think it should at least develop to the point of FoxPro, with both windows and a command line, which would make things much more convenient.

As long as it's useful and valuable, learn it!

Well said, everyone! Linux also originally had nothing but a command-line interface; later people developed X-Win and so on for it, which gave it both a command line and a graphical interface. DOS is the same.