🚀 go-pugleaf

Glenn Stewart (s215...@cse.unsw.edu.au) wrote:
: mcr...@ix.netcom.com (Psychoboy) wrote:

: > DOS controls your 
: >computer...it pretty much IS your computer.  So with this said, is 
: >Windows 95 a shell, or a real operating system? Is it loaded from DOS? Do 
: >you exit from it, or is it a real OS...like a graphical DOS?

: 1. Windows 95 is one product
: 2. It is both a GUI and a DOS in one
: 3. It is primarily a GUI

The above statements hold true for Windows/DOS bundle CDROM as well.

: 4. You can run Windows programs from the DOS prompt because it is
:    Windows.

There are many public domain Windows program launchers for Win3.1
that does the same thing.  Thus 4. doesn't prove anything.

: 5. Windows 95 requires no AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS

Not true.  Do you really have Win95 or have you ever seen one?

: 6. Windows 95 drivers replace the old DOS ones.

Again, not true.  If Win95 doesn't support your device, you still have to
load TSR in config.sys.

: 7. Even DOS games like WC3 will run from Windows95 with ease (even in 347)
:    and use the Windows drivers

So the windows shell in Win95 does better job than Win3.1.

: 8. I actually use the Windows mouse driver in DOS games running from the DOS
:    box.

That's mouse driver issue.  I can still do the same with my Logitech
mouse and Win3.1.

: 9. Interaction between the Windows 95 DOS and Windows 95 GUI seems to be
:    one.

Speculation.

: 10. Windows 95 doesn't require a separate OS to run it because it run's
:     itself.

But internally it's divided into two.  You can shutdown Windows part of
Win95 just like you exit progman.exe for Win3.1.

: 11. Only when in DOS mode the GUI doesn't run.

??

: 12. There is a manual way of of kicking in the Windows 95 GUI
:     (normally the GUI is started by the system files - but some setup
:     programs, if run from DOS mode, have to be able to start the GUI
:     the OLD way because they were made before Win95 - this is to type WIN
:     in MS DOS mode). Type WIN in DOS mode and Windows is run.
:     But if you have no AUTOEXEC.BAT, Windows 95 will run because
:     this is built into the .sys system files

You don't need config.sys and autoexec.bat to boot to DOS either.
But can you say those files are not required to run DOS?  I think not.

: > I am 
: >severely confused on this matter.  Where does DOS 7 come in? If Windows 
: >95 is a true OS, DOS 7 would be just a shell to run DOS programs, right? 
: >Unless Windows 95 can run DOS programs some other way.  Please...someone 
: >help me.  Thank you for any responses in advance.

: Well, no program can run DOS programs in any other way.
: OS/2 requires a DOS shell too.

But DOS shell on OS/2 runs on top of OS/2.  The DOS stuff for Win95
is still the bottom layer, and GUI stuff runs on top of DOS.

: Why doesn't anyone hassle OS/2 - it doesn't support all DOS programs though.

Do you think Win95 supports all DOS programs?  You are mistaken if you do.

: You have to boot from a floppy to run DOOM from OS/2 - how sad
: Windows 95 can run DOOM in a DOS windows from within the GUI.
: By the way, DOS 7 is Windows 95 as well

Well, not a lot of people judge operating systems by how well it supports
certain games.

: Glenn Stewart

This is the first time I looked into this thread (and probably the last time
as well), and I can't believe all these misinformation.  The bottom
line:  Win95 is DOS and Windows tightly coupled together to be perceived
as one.  It's not radically new technology like OS/2, NT, or whatnot.
As for Win95 being true OS, oh yes.  DOS was OS too.


Jongyoon Lee