COMMAND.COM

COMMAND.COM is the default command-line interpreter for MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me. In the case of DOS, it is the default user interface as well. It has an additional role as the usual first program run after boot (init process), hence being responsible for setting up the system by running the AUTOEXEC.BAT configuration file, and being the ancestor of all processes. COMMAND.COM's successor on OS/2 and Windows NT systems is cmd.exe, although COMMAND.COM is available in virtual DOS machines on IA-32 versions of those operating systems as well. The filename was also used by Disk Control Program (DCP), an MS-DOS derivative by the former East German VEB Robotron. The compatible command processor under FreeDOS is sometimes also named FreeCom. COMMAND.COM is a DOS program. Programs launched from COMMAND.COM are DOS programs that use the DOS API to communicate with the disk operating system. As a shell, COMMAND.COM has two distinct modes of operation. The first is interactive mode, in which the user types commands which are then executed immediately. The second is batch mode, which executes a predefined sequence of commands stored as a text file with the extension. Internal commands are commands stored directly inside the COMMAND.COM binary. Thus, they are always available but can only be executed directly from the command interpreter. All commands are executed after the key is pressed at the end of the line. COMMAND.COM is not case-sensitive, meaning commands can be typed in any mixture of upper and lower case. BREAK Controls the handling of program interruption with or . CHCP Displays or changes the current system code page. CHDIR, CD Changes the current working directory or displays the current directory. CLS Clears the screen. COPY Copies one file to another (if the destination file already exists, MS-DOS asks whether to replace it). (See also XCOPY, an external command that could also copy directory trees). CTTY Defines the device to use for input and output. DATE Display and set the date of the system.