DOS is a very practical operating system. Because of this, it has long been widely loved by people both in China and abroad, and has always had hundreds of millions of users. However, since 1995, Microsoft, for reasons such as commercial interests, decided to abandon MS-DOS. At that time there were already many kinds of DOS. Besides MS-DOS, there were also PC-DOS, DR-DOS, FreeDOS, and so on. But because of pressure from Microsoft, the number of people using them was not large, and most users were still using MS-DOS. Because Microsoft completely gave up MS-DOS and turned instead to developing Windows, this caused dissatisfaction among the great number of DOS users and enthusiasts. Moreover, the Windows 9x that people commonly use is really just a large program under DOS; without DOS support, it simply could not run. But from this we can also see that DOS is actually very powerful, and that DOS software has enormous development potential, because even a DOS enhancement program as powerful as Windows could be written.
Windows is a multitasking operating environment, but its constraints and restrictions on programming are much higher than DOS, so many programmers, out of dissatisfaction with Windows and a deep understanding of the value and potential of DOS development, continued to develop DOS software. Thanks to years of accumulated experience, their software development skills kept improving, and so the quality of the DOS software they developed also kept improving. In order to develop more software and increase development efficiency, they designed one DOS software development tool after another. More and more people began using these development tools, and they spread rapidly abroad. For details, see an article called “DJGPP Programs and Protected Mode” (in the “DOS Articles” section). One especially important point is that, as mentioned above, although MS-DOS itself no longer continues to develop, that does not mean DOS as a whole has stopped developing. The highest version of MS-DOS was 8.0 (included in Windows ME). Afterwards Microsoft began developing Windows based on Windows NT components, and only then did it become a truly independent operating system. Aside from MS-DOS, other DOS systems are also developing. DOS systems that are still constantly being developed and updated include FreeDOS, PTS-DOS, ROM-DOS, and so on. These DOS systems are all very powerful, often surpassing MS-DOS, and FreeDOS is also completely free and openly available. Therefore, programmers can fully develop new DOS software for them without having to depend on MS-DOS. This was probably the state of DOS in the late 1990s.
Afterwards, a movement called the “open source movement” arose. Many programmers and users, out of dissatisfaction with the overbearing dominance of Microsoft Windows, left the Windows camp. In its place came the rise of development for other operating systems, such as DOS, Linux, and so on. As a result, the number of people designing and developing DOS software increased rapidly, and they formed development groups one after another to develop software for new DOS systems and other non-Windows operating systems. For details, see an article called “A Comparison of DOS and Linux Development in Recent Years.” Because of the increase in developers, the original DOS software development tools also began to be further updated, and they came to support FAT32 and long file names. In addition, many of the people developing software this time were among the elite of programmers, so naturally the quality of the DOS software they developed was no longer what it used to be. For example, with the appearance of programming libraries such as Allegro, implementing playback of MP3 and other music under DOS had already become an easy matter for them. Compared with earlier DOS software represented by programs such as DOSAMP and GDS Viewer, these newer DOS programs showed an essential improvement in quality. SEA image viewer software, once thought to be extremely powerful, is now only an ordinarily powerful program. Another very important change lies in support for FAT32 and long file names. The now-popular DJGPP programs have already achieved perfect support for long file names when the LFN API is present. In short, the overall improvement in the level of these new DOS programs has been very obvious. In order to challenge the Windows interface, programmers (often through collective cooperation) developed one Windows-like interface enhancement program after another, famous ones including Seal, Qube, WinDOS, and so on. Some people have even developed DOS operating systems with 32-bit kernels, such as FreeDOS 32. The facts prove that the programming level of these programs is very high. Up to now, these programs are all still under continuous development, and the achievements they have made are plain for all to see. Moreover, their most notable characteristic is free and open development. As mentioned above, SEAL, FreeDOS 32, and so on are all free software following the famous GNU GPL license. More detailed information can be found in the article “DOS Is Free — An Introduction to FreeDOS.”
Compared with the still-rising development momentum of DOS software abroad, the development of DOS software in China is very slow, and its efficiency is not high. Abroad, some people have even already begun designing their own DOS, such as PowerDOS, while in China there is no such atmosphere. Of course, to a great extent this is because people do not understand the state of DOS development abroad, and some have even developed the hidden idea that “DOS software is already outdated,” which is certainly wrong. DOS is an operating system with strong vitality and relatively comprehensive functions. It can accomplish functions in all kinds of areas, rather than being limited to only certain aspects (such as disk management). Everyone can read the article “Thoughts Inspired by DOS Disk Management Functions...” for more detailed information. Moreover, even in China, DOS is still widely used, whether on some personal computers or in industrial production (especially very important embedded systems, etc.) and many other operations, and there are even more DOS enthusiasts. Therefore, everyone should look at DOS from the perspective that DOS and its software are still continuously being updated and developed. Mr. Mo, webmaster of “Qibu,” and I have already reached a consensus: that is, to vigorously promote new DOS software and to tell everyone about the latest developments of DOS in the world, in order to promote the development of DOS in China. At the same time, I hope that the broad community of DOS enthusiasts and users in China will also come help DOS grow and develop! If you can program or are interested in DOS software development, welcome to join “DOS Development” to develop new DOS software (more detailed information can be found in the “DOS Development” section). If you have any suggestions, please raise them through messages or email. Thank you!
Windows is a multitasking operating environment, but its constraints and restrictions on programming are much higher than DOS, so many programmers, out of dissatisfaction with Windows and a deep understanding of the value and potential of DOS development, continued to develop DOS software. Thanks to years of accumulated experience, their software development skills kept improving, and so the quality of the DOS software they developed also kept improving. In order to develop more software and increase development efficiency, they designed one DOS software development tool after another. More and more people began using these development tools, and they spread rapidly abroad. For details, see an article called “DJGPP Programs and Protected Mode” (in the “DOS Articles” section). One especially important point is that, as mentioned above, although MS-DOS itself no longer continues to develop, that does not mean DOS as a whole has stopped developing. The highest version of MS-DOS was 8.0 (included in Windows ME). Afterwards Microsoft began developing Windows based on Windows NT components, and only then did it become a truly independent operating system. Aside from MS-DOS, other DOS systems are also developing. DOS systems that are still constantly being developed and updated include FreeDOS, PTS-DOS, ROM-DOS, and so on. These DOS systems are all very powerful, often surpassing MS-DOS, and FreeDOS is also completely free and openly available. Therefore, programmers can fully develop new DOS software for them without having to depend on MS-DOS. This was probably the state of DOS in the late 1990s.
Afterwards, a movement called the “open source movement” arose. Many programmers and users, out of dissatisfaction with the overbearing dominance of Microsoft Windows, left the Windows camp. In its place came the rise of development for other operating systems, such as DOS, Linux, and so on. As a result, the number of people designing and developing DOS software increased rapidly, and they formed development groups one after another to develop software for new DOS systems and other non-Windows operating systems. For details, see an article called “A Comparison of DOS and Linux Development in Recent Years.” Because of the increase in developers, the original DOS software development tools also began to be further updated, and they came to support FAT32 and long file names. In addition, many of the people developing software this time were among the elite of programmers, so naturally the quality of the DOS software they developed was no longer what it used to be. For example, with the appearance of programming libraries such as Allegro, implementing playback of MP3 and other music under DOS had already become an easy matter for them. Compared with earlier DOS software represented by programs such as DOSAMP and GDS Viewer, these newer DOS programs showed an essential improvement in quality. SEA image viewer software, once thought to be extremely powerful, is now only an ordinarily powerful program. Another very important change lies in support for FAT32 and long file names. The now-popular DJGPP programs have already achieved perfect support for long file names when the LFN API is present. In short, the overall improvement in the level of these new DOS programs has been very obvious. In order to challenge the Windows interface, programmers (often through collective cooperation) developed one Windows-like interface enhancement program after another, famous ones including Seal, Qube, WinDOS, and so on. Some people have even developed DOS operating systems with 32-bit kernels, such as FreeDOS 32. The facts prove that the programming level of these programs is very high. Up to now, these programs are all still under continuous development, and the achievements they have made are plain for all to see. Moreover, their most notable characteristic is free and open development. As mentioned above, SEAL, FreeDOS 32, and so on are all free software following the famous GNU GPL license. More detailed information can be found in the article “DOS Is Free — An Introduction to FreeDOS.”
Compared with the still-rising development momentum of DOS software abroad, the development of DOS software in China is very slow, and its efficiency is not high. Abroad, some people have even already begun designing their own DOS, such as PowerDOS, while in China there is no such atmosphere. Of course, to a great extent this is because people do not understand the state of DOS development abroad, and some have even developed the hidden idea that “DOS software is already outdated,” which is certainly wrong. DOS is an operating system with strong vitality and relatively comprehensive functions. It can accomplish functions in all kinds of areas, rather than being limited to only certain aspects (such as disk management). Everyone can read the article “Thoughts Inspired by DOS Disk Management Functions...” for more detailed information. Moreover, even in China, DOS is still widely used, whether on some personal computers or in industrial production (especially very important embedded systems, etc.) and many other operations, and there are even more DOS enthusiasts. Therefore, everyone should look at DOS from the perspective that DOS and its software are still continuously being updated and developed. Mr. Mo, webmaster of “Qibu,” and I have already reached a consensus: that is, to vigorously promote new DOS software and to tell everyone about the latest developments of DOS in the world, in order to promote the development of DOS in China. At the same time, I hope that the broad community of DOS enthusiasts and users in China will also come help DOS grow and develop! If you can program or are interested in DOS software development, welcome to join “DOS Development” to develop new DOS software (more detailed information can be found in the “DOS Development” section). If you have any suggestions, please raise them through messages or email. Thank you!
