MS DOS – Commands

Microsoft Disk Operating System was introduced for first time on August 12, 1981 as operating system for IBM PCs.

Commands – Definition

Commands are small piece of software, alternatively you can define command as individual program of function which are written in MS-DOS library.

According to the nature of command these are categorized in two groups. These are Internal Commands and External Commands. You will learn more about these commands in next chapter.

• Every Command will be executed only on hitting Enter key.

Types of Commands

Based on the type and functionality, there are two types of commands.

Internal Commands

Commands that come built in with MS-DOS are called Internal Commands. These are fixed commands and the functions of these command is already defined in COMMAND.COM file which is the library file of MS-DOS.

Some Internal Commands are as follows:

COPY 
DEL 
DIR 
MD 
CD 
RD 
REN 
DATE 
TIME 
MKDIR 
RMDIR 
RENAME
DELETE 

etc.

External Commands

External Commands: Commands those do not come with MS-DOS and needs to be installed separately or are located in Floppies or Hard Disc, are called External Commands. Some of these commands are as follows:

DELTREE
LABEL 
TREE 
FORMAT 
DISKCHK 
DISKCOMP 
DISKCOPY 
XCOPY 
PRINT 
HELP 
ATTRIB 
EDIT 
FC

etc.