DOS Shell (" DOS Shell ") is a file manager that first appeared in MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS 4.0 (June 1988). This shell was discontinued after version 6.0, but was supported as part of the Supplemental Disk until MS-DOS 6.22. Essentially, DOS Shell was not part of the operating system throughout its development, but was rather an addition . Despite this, DOS Shell remained in PC DOS until 2000.
| Windows component | |
| Dos shell | |
|---|---|
 DOS Shell from Russified MS-DOS 5.0 | |
| Included in | Dos |
| Replaced | COMMAND.COM under DOS |
| Has been replaced | MS-DOS Executive for Windows 1.x / 2.x |
Features
DOS Shell includes common features that can be seen in other file managers: for example, copying, moving and renaming files, launching applications by double-clicking. The shell can be launched from the command line using the dosshell command . It also has the ability to change colors and styles. DOS Shell was one of the first successful attempts to create file managers for DOS with a pseudo- graphical user interface , although in fact its interface is text or COW (Character Oriented Window - windows oriented to signs). The shell itself also strongly resembles the DOS version of Windows Explorer (and especially from Windows 3.11).
A help system, a list of programs, and a task switcher are available in the shell. Like modern file managers, DOS Shell has the ability to display directories and files on two panels. There is also mouse support.
One of the features is the ability to display the list of all files on the hard drive in the form of a single list, including also information about the path to the file and its attributes. This allows the user to compare file versions in different directories by their attributes.
Weaknesses
There were several reasons for stopping the use of DOS Shell:
- lack of multitasking support. Programs are placed in ordinary memory (RAM) , there is no way to unload unused programs to disk;
- Windows 3.x and its own graphical user interface have become much more popular among users, as Windows has built-in multitasking support. Also, the performance of the system in Windows as a whole is much higher, since this system has more full access to RAM.