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Thread ID: 76936	2007-02-21 05:06:00	DOS Command Prompt	Strommer (42)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
526729	2007-02-24 06:00:00	As a shell, COMMAND.COM has two distinct modes of work. First is the interactive mode, in which the user types commands which are then executed immediately. The second is the batch mode, which executes a predefined sequence of commands stored as a text file with the extension .BAT. Its function as the default command interpreter is analogous to that of the Unix shells, although COMMAND.COM's functionality is considerably more limited than that of its Unix counterparts. cmd.exe is COMMAND.COM's successor on Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 and OS/2. COMMAND.COM is also available on those systems to provide compatibility when running DOS applications. On NT systems, COMMAND.COM is run within the Virtual DOS Machine. In general, the VDMs and similar technologies (including products like VMware) do not satisfactorily run many older DOS programs on today's computers. Emulation is only provided for the most basic peripherals, although Windows XP added emulation of the Sound Blaster and other multimedia devices. Emulation of supported peripherals is incomplete and quirky. NT-family versions of Windows only update the real screen a few times per second when a DOS program writes to it, and do not emulate higher resolution graphics modes. Because software runs mostly native, all timing loops will expire prematurely. This either makes a game run much too fast or causes the software to not even notice the emulated hardware peripherals, because it does not wait long enough for an answer. A common solution to these problems is to use a full CPU emulator such as DOSBox. The disadvantage is that it does not allow a totally transparent integration with the host operating system and it is slower	pctek (84)
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