Source-available softwareSource-available software is software released through a source code distribution model that includes arrangements where the source can be viewed, and in some cases modified, but without necessarily meeting the criteria to be called open-source. The licenses associated with the offerings range from allowing code to be viewed for reference to allowing code to be modified and redistributed for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.
Computer multitaskingIn computing, multitasking is the concurrent execution of multiple tasks (also known as processes) over a certain period of time. New tasks can interrupt already started ones before they finish, instead of waiting for them to end. As a result, a computer executes segments of multiple tasks in an interleaved manner, while the tasks share common processing resources such as central processing units (CPUs) and main memory.
Boot diskA boot disk is a removable digital data storage medium from which a computer can load and run (boot) an operating system or utility program. The computer must have a built-in program which will load and execute a program from a boot disk meeting certain standards. While almost all modern computers can boot from a hard drive containing the operating system and other software, they would not normally be called boot disks (because they are not removable media).
MkdirThe mkdir (make directory) command in the Unix, DOS, DR FlexOS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows, and ReactOS operating systems is used to make a new . It is also available in the EFI shell and in the PHP scripting language. In DOS, OS/2, Windows and ReactOS, the command is often abbreviated to md. The command is analogous to the Stratus OpenVOS create_dir command. MetaComCo TRIPOS and AmigaDOS provide a similar MakeDir command to create new directories. The numerical computing environments MATLAB and GNU Octave include an mkdir function with similar functionality.
Volume boot recordA volume boot record (VBR) (also known as a volume boot sector, a partition boot record or a partition boot sector) is a type of boot sector introduced by the IBM Personal Computer. It may be found on a partitioned data storage device, such as a hard disk, or an unpartitioned device, such as a floppy disk, and contains machine code for bootstrapping programs (usually, but not necessarily, operating systems) stored in other parts of the device. On non-partitioned storage devices, it is the first sector of the device.
Echo (command)In computing, echo is a command that outputs the strings that are passed to it as arguments. It is a command available in various operating system shells and typically used in shell scripts and s to output status text to the screen or a , or as a source part of a pipeline. The command is available in the following operating systems: Multics TSC FLEX MetaComCo TRIPOS Zilog Z80-RIO Microware OS-9 DOS Acorn Computers Panos Digital Research FlexOS IBM OS/2 Microsoft Windows ReactOS HP MPE/iX KolibriOS SymbOS Unix and Unix-like operating systems Many shells, including all Bourne-like (such as Bash or zsh) and Csh-like shells as well as COMMAND.
Help (command)In computing, help is a command in various command line shells such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, Bash, qshell, 4DOS/4NT, Windows PowerShell, Singularity shell, Python, MATLAB and GNU Octave. It provides online information about available commands and the shell environment. The command is available in operating systems such as Multics, Heath Company HDOS, CP/M Plus, DOS, IBM OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, IBM i, Microsoft Windows, ReactOS, THEOS/OASIS, Zilog Z80-RIO, Microware OS-9, Stratus OpenVOS, HP MPE/iX, Motorola VERSAdos, KolibriOS and also in the DEC RT-11, RSX-11, TOPS-10 and TOPS-20 operating systems.
NetWareNetWare is a discontinued computer network operating system developed by Novell, Inc. It initially used cooperative multitasking to run various services on a personal computer, using the IPX network protocol. The original NetWare product in 1983 supported clients running both CP/M and MS-DOS, ran over a proprietary star network topology and was based on a Novell-built file server using the Motorola 68000 processor.
History of operating systemsComputer operating systems (OSes) provide a set of functions needed and used by most application programs on a computer, and the links needed to control and synchronize computer hardware. On the first computers, with no operating system, every program needed the full hardware specification to run correctly and perform standard tasks, and its own drivers for peripheral devices like printers and punched paper card readers. The growing complexity of hardware and application programs eventually made operating systems a necessity for everyday use.