To:	opendos AT delorie DOT com
Date:	Sun, 9 Jul 2000 23:12:23 -0700
Subject:	Best DOS's
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From:	Robert W Moss <domanspc AT juno DOT com>
Reply-To:	opendos AT delorie DOT com

I know that this is a pretty long post but a lot of people have been 
asking about the merits of the various DOS's and this is the 
"OPEN DOS" ne. "Digital Research DOS" discussion list.   
I hope this is of interest to most of you, mostly new people I hope.

For all of you who have been talking about which is the best DOS.
For some of the old timers on the list this may be old news. Sorry.

"Digital Research" was in the Operating System business long before 
Microsoft  (Bill Gates and friends were making money with a program 
called Basic). 

It published CP/M, the first complete operating system for 
microcomputers.  Before MS DOS was ever released, CP/M grew 
into a multiuser version: MP/M.

For the Intel '86 family of microprocessors, Digital Research released 
a series of advanced operating systems, beginning with CP/M-86. 
This was followed by a series of multiuser, multitasking systems. 
including DR Multiuser DOS (still very much in use on some nationwide 
computer networks-in1994), Concurrent DOS 386, and Concurrent DOS XM. 
Concurrent DOS provided multitasking on a single computer and is 
the ancestor of the Task Manager. 

The first standard-type, single-user DOS released by Digital Research 
was DR DOS 3.41 in 1988.  Coming a year after MS-DOS 3.3, it 
allowed the use of 512-megabyte disk partitions, whereas the MS-DOS 
release could handle only 32-megabytes disk partitions.  This version 
of DR DOS was available only to computer manufacturers.  It had the 
advantage -- shared with subsequent releases -- that it could be placed 
in ROM, so that it was fairly popular on portable computers.

In 1991, a few months after IBM and Microsoft released DOS 4.0, 
Digital Research released its DR DOS 5.  This was its first retail
version 
of DOS. However, DR DOS 5 already had advanced command extensions, 
a task switcher, a memory manager, and the ViewMAX visual shell (which, 
although it was little more than a file manager, was much easier to use
than 
the MS/IBM DOS Shell and easier to understand than Microsoft Windows). 

The next release, DR DOS 6, released in 1991, expanded on those features 
and was the first DOS to include a built-in disk-compression utility
(SuperStor), 
a disk optimizer, a remote-transfer utility, and a full-screen
file-undeletion program. 

ViewMAX was dropped as of Novell DOS 7, presumably because the over-
whelming popularity of MS Windows had made it redundant. 

Novell DOS 7 included Novell Personal Netware which enabled you to set up

a peer to peer network or connect to a Novell Netware network as a
client. 
It had a built-in multitasking controller.  With a 386 or higher CPU you
could  
run  multiple programs at once using a simple interface, without the
overhead 
required for graphical screens, mice, and menus. If you didn't have an
80386 
you could still use this utility to switch between loaded programs
without running 
more than one at a time.  
The memory management utilities were, and still are, among the most
sophisticated 
on the market. In 1994 they were present in no other package on the
market.  
These features allow you to load some programs almost entirely outside 
of the DOS - addressable first megabyte  of RAM.  In addition to giving
access 
to XMS, EMS, upper memory, and high memory, these features include
complete 
support for both the virtual control-program interface (VCPI) and DOS 
protected-mode interface DPMI protocols for using the DOS protected mode.
 

Starting with DR DOS 5 and 6, and now continuing in Novell DOS 7, this
DOS is 
probably the most customizable operating system on the market, allowing
for 
great flexibility in how you set up and organize your system.  With just
a little bit 
of programming skill, it is easier to set up and maintain multiple boot
configurations 
in this DOS than in most alternative systems.  Moreover, you can make the

execution  of any command in config.sys or autoexec.bat conditional.

The built-in batch language contains a collection of commands that
actually 
allow you to construct relatively structured code -- something no other
DOS had
(has?).  To supplement these commands Novell DOS 7 used a unique feature
-- 
{system variables} -- to let you build batch files that respond to
external events. 

Also included were: 

extensive installation and configuration facilities, which could 
even edit and maintain your configuration files for you if you wanted.  

an on-line help system with a search feature, 

complete tools for protecting and recovering deleted files

a file de-fragmenting utility

a full screen editor that uses Wordstar commands and pull-down menus, 
giving you flexibility in choice of approaches  to editing

security facilities that enable you to restrict access to drives,
directories, 
or files, or even lock up a stand-alone computer so nobody can use it 
without a password.  (This is in addition to safeguards built into the 
networking software)

a file transfer utility that can transfer files quickly from a laptop to
a desktop 
computer -- or between two connected computers -- by way of  either
serial 
or parallel ports. And it doesn't add drive letters to your system to
confuse you.

Licensed add-ins included:

Fastback Express, a fast, flexible full-screen  backup program licensed
from 
Fifth Generation Systems, including a Windows version for good measure. 

Search and Destroy, a set of virus-checking and virus-removal utilities,
also 
in DOS and Windows versions. 

A version of stacker disk-compression software with a complete set of 
facilities for installing, maintaining, and removing compressed drives. 

After Novell DOS 7.xx, Caldera Systems purchased all the Digital Research

Software from Novell and the name has been changed back and forth from
Novell Dos to Caldera DOS to Open DOS and back to DR DOS and one set 
of the  source codes was released to delorie.com in 1997 and now there 
are several versions out there in the system.  I believe Caldera has
since 
taken back the source code for further commercial development and broken 
off a division Called Lineo to do the development and sell products.  You
can 
still download a copy for PERSONAL use from various sites.  Several
people 
who used to work at Caldera Systems are still working on the Open DOS 
source code which was previously released as open scource, and others 
have also continued to work on improvements, such as Paul Matthias and 
DJ Delorie.

So much for the Grand Daddy of all the DOS's.  Someone else who has a 
good knowledge of the changes in Caldera/Open/DR DOS since 1995 can 
possibly fill in the next page in the life of the Real DOS. 

And if someone else can recall the life history of MS DOS, Free DOS, New
DOS,
or any thing else out there it might be interesting to read about it,
including 
4DOS,.(like - how much of 4DOS was licensed for use by PC DOS 7 and 
MS DOS 6 and 7.)

PEACE

BOB "DOMAN" MOSS  -- Signing in from California, the eighth largest
nation
in the Western Hemisphere.  Known as the Land of Fruits and Nuts among 
other things.  "EAT CHOCOLATE FIRST"











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