4DOS
Encyclopedia
4DOS is a command line interpreter by JP Software, designed to replace the default command interpreter
and Windows 95
/98
/Me
. The 4DOS family of programs are meant to replace the default command processor. 4OS2 and 4NT replace CMD.EXE in OS/2 and Windows NT respectively. 4DOS was written by Rex Conn and Tom Rawson; it was first released in 1989.
A graphical version of 4DOS, 4OS2 and 4NT, called Take Command was released with a feature set corresponding to version 4DOS 5.5, and 4OS2, 4NT 2.5 and updated after this. Development on this line stopped with the corresponding character-mode versions. There was a graphical program Take Command/16, for Windows 3.1.
4OS2 is a similar replacement for IBM's OS/2
command interpreter. This was first released at the same time as 4DOS version 4, and has a similar feature set. Like 4DOS, this is released as open source, and is still being actively developed. It appears in the feature set of 2011's eComStation 2.10, and in the freeware os2free project. Take Command for OS/2 is not currently being developed.
4NT
was first released as 4DOS for Windows NT (versions 1.x, 2.x), but became 4NT until the restructure after version 8. The program is a recompile of 4OS2, and continues to have features of OS/2's command processor (CMD.EXE), such as running REXX scripts, and EXTPROC support. A corresponding Take Command/32 exists for this, version 1 corresponding to 4NT 2.5. 4NT and Take Command/32 were released in both ANSI (Windows 9x) and UNICODE (Windows NT) forms, with the ANSI version dropped at version 5.
A new Win32 program Tabbed Command Interface, was released at the time of 4NT version 7. This program allowed one to attach, and unattach tabbed consoles to a single Window. This program requires Windows XP or later. Apart from reducing screen clutter, this program does not seem to do much.
A new version of Take Command
extends the original Tabbed Command Interface, expanded with extra windows to allow input to be composed, to graphically navigate directories and files, and extra features. 4NT is bundled as Take Command Console. A light or feature-reduced version of TCC is released as a free download. JP Software then released TC (full pack of TCI + TCC), or TCLE (TCI + TCC/LE), or TCC (just the command utility), or TCC/LE. This has been released from versions 9 to 12.1, corresponding to the underlying 4NT/TCC version.
, 4DOS has been later released as unsupported freeware
. Currently, the source code is available under a modified MIT License
but it "may not be used in any commercial product without written permission from Rex Conn" and "may not be compiled for use on any operating system other than FreeDOS
" so it does not qualify as open source as defined by Open Source Initiative
.
The last update by JPSoft was version 7.50.130, released in August 2004. During its 15-year history, 4DOS underwent numerous updates; here are a few of the most significant.
for DOS included modified copies of 4DOS called NDOS. The last version of NDOS was bundled with Norton Utilities 8, and corresponded to 4DOS 4.03.
COMMAND.COMCOMMAND.COMCOMMAND.COM is the filename of the default operating system shell for DOS operating systems and the default command line interpreter on Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me...
in DOSDOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
/98
Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
/Me
Windows Me
Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006....
. The 4DOS family of programs are meant to replace the default command processor. 4OS2 and 4NT replace CMD.EXE in OS/2 and Windows NT respectively. 4DOS was written by Rex Conn and Tom Rawson; it was first released in 1989.
A graphical version of 4DOS, 4OS2 and 4NT, called Take Command was released with a feature set corresponding to version 4DOS 5.5, and 4OS2, 4NT 2.5 and updated after this. Development on this line stopped with the corresponding character-mode versions. There was a graphical program Take Command/16, for Windows 3.1.
4OS2 is a similar replacement for IBM's OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
command interpreter. This was first released at the same time as 4DOS version 4, and has a similar feature set. Like 4DOS, this is released as open source, and is still being actively developed. It appears in the feature set of 2011's eComStation 2.10, and in the freeware os2free project. Take Command for OS/2 is not currently being developed.
4NT
4NT
Take Command Console , formerly known as 4DOS for Windows NT and 4NT, is a command line interpreter by JP Software, designed as a substitute for the default command interpreter in Microsoft Windows...
was first released as 4DOS for Windows NT (versions 1.x, 2.x), but became 4NT until the restructure after version 8. The program is a recompile of 4OS2, and continues to have features of OS/2's command processor (CMD.EXE), such as running REXX scripts, and EXTPROC support. A corresponding Take Command/32 exists for this, version 1 corresponding to 4NT 2.5. 4NT and Take Command/32 were released in both ANSI (Windows 9x) and UNICODE (Windows NT) forms, with the ANSI version dropped at version 5.
A new Win32 program Tabbed Command Interface, was released at the time of 4NT version 7. This program allowed one to attach, and unattach tabbed consoles to a single Window. This program requires Windows XP or later. Apart from reducing screen clutter, this program does not seem to do much.
A new version of Take Command
Take Command (command line interpreter)
Take Command was the name that JP Software used for their GUI command line interpreters for Windows 3.1 , Windows 32-bit and later OS/2 Presentation Manager . These were released concurrently with version 4DOS 5.5, 4NT 2.5 and 4OS2 2.52...
extends the original Tabbed Command Interface, expanded with extra windows to allow input to be composed, to graphically navigate directories and files, and extra features. 4NT is bundled as Take Command Console. A light or feature-reduced version of TCC is released as a free download. JP Software then released TC (full pack of TCI + TCC), or TCLE (TCI + TCC/LE), or TCC (just the command utility), or TCC/LE. This has been released from versions 9 to 12.1, corresponding to the underlying 4NT/TCC version.
Features
4DOS features a number of enhancements when compared toCOMMAND.COM:- Additional commands
- Extended functionality of existing commands
- Extended batch fileBatch fileIn DOS, OS/2, and Microsoft Windows, batch file is the name given to a type of script file, a text file containing a series of commands to be executed by the command interpreter....
processing facilities - Improved command line editing, including filename completionCommand line completionCommand line completion is a common feature of command line interpreters, in which the program automatically fills in partially typed commands....
and command historyCommand HistoryCommand history is a feature in many operating system shells, computer algebra programs, and other software that allows the user to recall, edit and rerun previous commands.... - Support for command aliases, also in scripts
- Enhanced wildcardsWildcard character-Telecommunication:In telecommunications, a wildcard character is a character that may be substituted for any of a defined subset of all possible characters....
and the ability to filter by file sizes, date and time stamps, et cetera - Extended syntax for redirection and piping
- Context-specific online help
- Colored directory listings
- Internal variables and variable functions
- A more sophisticated swapping mechanism, yielding more free conventional memoryConventional memoryIn DOS memory management, conventional memory, also called base memory, is the first 640 kilobytes of the memory on IBM PC or compatible systems. It is the read-write memory usable by the operating system and application programs...
on most systems - An interactive debugger for batch files
- A mechanism for creating, maintaining and displaying file descriptionsMetadataThe term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
- Configuration stored in an .INI fileInitialization fileThe INI file format is a standard for configuration files for some platforms or software. INI files are simple text files with a basic structure composed of "sections" and "properties"....
- Support for the Windows clipboardClipboard (software)The clipboard is a software facility that can be used for short-term data storage and/or data transfer between documents or applications, via copy and paste operations...
- Support for starting OS/2 programs.
History and current status
Originally distributed as sharewareShareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
, 4DOS has been later released as unsupported freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
. Currently, the source code is available under a modified MIT License
MIT License
The MIT License is a free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It is a permissive license, meaning that it permits reuse within proprietary software provided all copies of the licensed software include a copy of the MIT License terms...
but it "may not be used in any commercial product without written permission from Rex Conn" and "may not be compiled for use on any operating system other than FreeDOS
FreeDOS
FreeDOS is an operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. FreeDOS is made up of many different, separate programs that act as "packages" to the overall FreeDOS Project...
" so it does not qualify as open source as defined by Open Source Initiative
Open Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative is an organization dedicated to promoting open source software.The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code for its flagship Netscape Communicator product...
.
The last update by JPSoft was version 7.50.130, released in August 2004. During its 15-year history, 4DOS underwent numerous updates; here are a few of the most significant.
| Version | Released | New features |
|---|---|---|
| 2.00 | February 15, 1989 | Original release. Improved command-line editing, filename completion, command history, aliases, improved wildcards, online help, internal variables, swapping to disk or EMS Expanded memory In DOS memory management, expanded memory is a system of bank switching introduced April 24, 1985 that provided additional memory to DOS programs beyond the limit of conventional memory. Expanded memory uses parts of the address space normally dedicated to communication with peripherals for program... , file descriptions, command separator, key stacker |
| 2.20 | July 5, 1989 | Executable extensions |
| 3.00 | March 7, 1990 | BTM Batch file In DOS, OS/2, and Microsoft Windows, batch file is the name given to a type of script file, a text file containing a series of commands to be executed by the command interpreter.... batch files (cached to memory for speed), extended memory Extended memory In DOS memory management, extended memory refers to memory above the first megabyte of address space in an IBM PC or compatible with an 80286 or later processor. The term is mainly used under the DOS and Windows operating systems... (XMS) swapping, variable functions, bracket variable-name syntax |
| 4.00 | November 1, 1991 | Colored directory listings, 4DOS.INI configuration file, include lists, command groups, implied CDD, DOS 5 UMB Upper Memory Area In DOS memory management, the upper memory area refers to memory between the addresses of 640 KB and 1024 KB in an IBM PC or compatible. IBM reserved the uppermost 384 KB of the 8088 CPU's 1024 KB address space for ROM, RAM on peripherals, and memory-mapped input/output... support |
| 5.00 | November 23, 1993 | Date, time, and size ranges; compressed batch files |
| 5.51 | August 22, 1995 | Long filename Long filename Long filenames , are Microsoft's way of implementing filenames longer than the 8.3 filename, or short-filename, naming scheme used in Microsoft DOS in their modern FAT and NTFS filesystems. Because these filenames can be longer than an 8.3 filename, they can be more descriptive... support, REXX REXX REXX is an interpreted programming language that was developed at IBM. It is a structured high-level programming language that was designed to be both easy to learn and easy to read... in .BAT files (as in PC-DOS 7.0) |
| 6.00 | July 24, 1997 | Extended directory searches, interactive configuration (OPTION command), exclusion ranges, interactive batch file debugger |
| 7.00 | June 18, 2001 | @file lists (as in DR-DOS DR-DOS DR-DOS is an MS-DOS-compatible operating system for IBM PC-compatible personal computers, originally developed by Gary Kildall's Digital Research and derived from Concurrent PC DOS 6.0, which was an advanced successor of CP/M-86... ) |
| 7.50 | February 24, 2003 | User-defined functions |
| 7.50.1 | November 2006 | Open source version of 7.50. Luchezar Georgiev has continued developing 4DOS. |
| 8.00 | February 27, 2009 | Latest version. |
NDOS
Some versions of the Norton UtilitiesNorton Utilities
Norton Utilities is a utility software suite designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer. The current version 15 of Norton Utilities Premier Edition for Windows XP/Vista/7 was released December 27, 2010....
for DOS included modified copies of 4DOS called NDOS. The last version of NDOS was bundled with Norton Utilities 8, and corresponded to 4DOS 4.03.
External links
- 4DOS Hello World Example
- JP Software
- Klaus Meinhard's 4DOS support site with many batch examples, related docs and programs
- 4DOS Guide - Using 4DOS as a secondary shell under Windows 95/98/Me
- [news:comp.os.msdos.4dos comp.os.msdos.4dos] - Usenet group covering 4DOS and other JP Software shells
- 4DOS @ Club Dr-DOS's Wiki
- Revived 4DOS - Open source 4DOS, new builds and patches