MS DOS

Short for Microsoft Disk operating system, MS-DOS is a non-graphical command line operating system created for IBM compatible computers that was first introduced by Microsoft in August 1981 and was last updated in 1994 when MS-DOS 6.22 was released. Today, MS-DOS is no longer used, however, the command shell more commonly known as the Windows command line is still used and recommended. In the picture to the right, is an example of what a MS-DOS window more appropriately referred to as the Windows command line looks like under Microsoft Windows

Today, most computer users are only familiar with navigating Microsoft Windows using the mouse. Unlike Windows, MS-DOS does not use a mouse and is navigated by using MS-DOS commands. For example, if you wanted to see all the files in a folder in Windows you would open the Windows Explorer, in the command line you would use the dir commant.