Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/01/23/00:01:06
On Wed, 22 Jan 1997, Eli Zaretskii wrote:
> > How ANY DOS programmer could get by without 4DOS is totally BEYOND me!
> > It does WAY too many cool things. The time you take to download it is
> > given back to you by the time you save not having to type filenames
> > anymore. I'm refering to the filename completion features of course.
>
> You don't need 600k compressed package to get file completion. For an
4DOS *ISNT* a 600k compressed file completion package. It does MUCH
more than that. It is a compete overhaul of COMMAND.COM. It includes
a very powerful BATCH file programming language, batch file compiler,
aliases, associations (like associating a file type to a program in
Windows), command history, filename completion, color directories,
online help system, online file browser, about 80 internal commands,
consumes less memory than command.com, is totally configurable, allows
multiple commands on the same line, allows commands such as GOSUB, FOR
loops, DO WHILE, to be used in batch files, color directory listings,
keyboard macros (redefining keys like F2=dir and such), etc...
I could go on for about 15 pages with all the cool things that 4DOS
has but I don't feel that I need to. 4DOS is a wonderful shell that
is fully COMMAND.COM compatible, but includes everything that you WISH
were in COMMAND.COM but isnt. If *ALL* you want is filename
completion, then sure, you dont need all the power of 4DOS, however it
is only a 500k zip archive and a 250k zip of the manual. A very small
download if you ask me.
Anyone who I've showed 4DOS to has foamed at the mouth. I mean
*EVERYONE*. I have yet to show someone 4DOS that doesn't get all
excited and want a copy. Even Windows and W95 users get excited!
Everyone that I know (all my friends) use 4dos now. It isn't JUST for
programmers. On the contrary.
It takes up about half a meg once it's installed (minus the manual
which is a meg decompressed).
> example of such a tool check out CMDEDIT from SimTel.NET: it does file
> completion and command-line editing in just 10k. I think most of the
Cool. If those are the only features that you need/want, then you can
certainly run it, however I still heavily recommend 4DOS to even an
8088 programmer. I use 4DOS on my 286 with 640 of ram and it STILL
uses less memory than command.com.
> size 4DOS takes at runtime is due to its advanced command-line syntax
> (like >& and ||) and richer set of built-in commands, not to the
> completion. So the real issue with 4DOS (IMHO) is: do you really need
> all the additional features, beyond filename completion?
As I said above, 4DOS consumes very little resident memory. It uses
only 416 *BYTES* of conventional when loaded high, unlike command.com
which uses close to 4k. Also, you'll see that it is using about 10k
of upper memory, this is a configurable thing. I'm a power user and
have told 4DOS to use 4k for alias memory, and 3 or 4k for history,
plus about 1 or 2k for environment. In any configuration of 4DOS,
I've yet to see it use any more than 3k or so of conventional however,
and that is on machines with VERY little memory. In those cases, it
swaps to disk (quickly too I might add). Here is a little example:
[DOSEMU] C:\>MEM/C
Modules using memory below 1 MB:
Name Total = Conventional + Upper Memory
-------- ---------------- ---------------- ----------------
MSDOS 17,965 (18K) 17,965 (18K) 0 (0K)
EMS 256 (0K) 256 (0K) 0 (0K)
4DOS 9,856 (10K) 416 (0K) 9,440 (9K)
Free 823,664 (804K) 636,528 (622K) 187,136 (183K)
[snip]
As you can see, small fingerprint for the benefits. Most programmers
have at LEAST a 486 with 4 megs of memory, so 4DOS will swap to
XMS/EMS the transient portion anyway. This is a realistic view.
Memory/disk space issues are not an issue for 4DOS on any computer
system made within the last 7 or 8 years.
That is my opinion anyway. The latest versions of 4DOS will work
great with long filenames in W95 too, and include tonnes of special
features for use in '95 as well.
Hope you try out 4DOS, and really try out a lot of it's features.
If you do, you'll definately fall in love with it.
Mike A. Harris - Computer Consultant http://www3.sympatico.ca/mharris
My dynamic address: http://www3.sympatico.ca/mharris/ip-address.html
mailto:mharris AT sympatico DOT ca mailto:mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca
DOS must have's: 4DOS 5.50c ftp://ftp.std.com/vendors/jpsoft
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