Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!sjsca4!poffen From: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger) Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc Subject: Re: Where is the long awaited MS DOS 5.0 ? Message-ID: <1990Dec31.201117.26371@sj.ate.slb.com> Date: 31 Dec 90 20:11:17 GMT References: <13523@milton.u.washington.edu> <1990Dec29.171755.25340@xrtll.uucp> <965@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz> Reply-To: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger) Organization: Schlumberger Technologies, San Jose, CA. Lines: 48 In article <965@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz> mallsop@sunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Mark Allsop) writes: >In article <1990Dec29.171755.25340@xrtll.uucp> silver@xrtll.UUCP (Hi Ho Silver) writes: >} >} Before I start, let me say that I _don't_ like DOS and I _do_ like Unix. >}But some of the statements in this thread _are_ rather misleading. >} >}In article <13523@milton.u.washington.edu> dittrich@milton.u.washington.edu (Dave Dittrich) writes: >}$>2. The ease with which a non-experienced user can learn DOS far >}$>outpaces the same user attempting to learn the sometimes cryptic UNIX. >}$The ease of learning is not THAT much better (OK, DOS has TENS of commands, >}$rather than HUNDREDS, like UNIX. How many people use all of them though? >} >} I never thought I'd see myself defending DOS, but let's face it - its >}commands are much easier to remember than those under Unix (in general). >}DOS tends to use the first few letters of a command, or the whole word if >}it's short enough. Unix tends to pick letters out of the word. Yes, there >}are some cases where this isn't true ... but look at the following. These >}are three of the most commonly-used commands. >} >}FUNCTION DOS UNIX >}directory/list dir ls >}copy copy cp >}erase/remove/delete erase/del rm > >Sorry, but that argument dosn't hold any water. Ever heard of alias? Under >UNIX, you can alias ls to dir. And directory, files and any other command you >may want for that matter. Under DOS, you have to write a batch file or, if >the command is outside the command.com, rename the program. > >Ask software developers which OS they prefer and I bet UNIX will come out on >top, especially for big applications. The package I work with has had soooo >many tricks used just so the damn thing can fit inside 640k- even with >overlays. And if I had all the time back I've spent playing with peoples >config.sys and autoexec.bat and such files just to squeeze out another few k >of memory, I could go to the US skiing for the season. And I know where I'd >rather be....... The sooner DOS grows up the better. > >Cheers, >+Mark. > Of course, if you use 4DOS as your command interpreter instead of command.com, you have most of the mentioned features, such as usage, aliases, etc. Russ Poffenberger DOMAIN: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com Schlumberger Technologies UUCP: {uunet,decwrl,amdahl}!sjsca4!poffen 1601 Technology Drive CIS: 72401,276 San Jose, Ca. 95110 (408)437-5254