MS-DOS
| Operating System | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Name | MS-DOS |
| Manufacturer | Microsoft |
| Released | 1981-08-12 |
| EOS | 2001-12-31 (versions 1x-7.0), 2006-07-11 (versions 7.10 and 8.0) |
| Preceded by | 86-DOS |
| Succeeded by | Windows 1.0x, Windows NT (since Windows XP) |
Microsoft Disk Operating System, or MS-DOS, is a command-line operating system released by Microsoft on August 12, 1981.
It was the first operating system to be widely installed on personal computers (PCs) and it dominated the PC market for many years, playing a significant role in shaping the computer industry.
MS-DOS quickly gained popularity due to its simplicity and efficiency. It provided a stable platform for running applications and allowed users to navigate their computer systems using a command-line interface. The command-line interface required users to type specific commands to perform tasks.
One of the key factors that contributed to the success of MS-DOS was its compatibility with a wide range of hardware. It could run on various PC architectures, giving it a broad user base. Software developers could write programs for MS-DOS knowing that they would work on a large number of computers, which made it an attractive platform for software development.
