DosEA 2 -- What is DOS? by Chet Langin Langin Software 532 W. 3rd St. Centralia, IL 62801 CIS: 73770,615 _______ ____|__ | (tm) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER <<< Page 2 >>> DosEA 2 -- What is DOS? Copyright (c), 1990, 1991 by Chet Langin, all rights reserved MS-DOS, GW-BASIC, and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Compaq is a registered trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation. WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation. Tandy is a registered trademark of Tandy Corporation. Users of "DosEA 2 -- What is DOS?" must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "DosEA 2 -- What is DOS?" is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of it. <<< Page 3 >>> Table of Contents Welcome 4 What is DosEA? 4 Who is DosEA for? 5 What is DosEA 2 ? 6 Installation 7 Tutorial 7 Appendix A -- A list of files 8 Appendix B -- Troubleshooting 9 <<< Page 4 >>> *************** ** Welcome ** *************** Welcome to "DosEA 2 -- What is DOS?" ********************** ** What is DosEA? ** ********************** The series name, "DosEA," is a play on words which means a dossier on DOS. But, what is it? Specifically, DosEA is a series of hypertext programs which explain DOS. The series, so far, consists of . . . DosEA 1 -- For Absolute Beginners DosEA 2 -- What is DOS? DosEA 3 -- 10 Easy Commands DosEA 4 -- Find That Command! More programs are under development. A key element in the presentation of the DosEA series is hypertext. Once you get the idea behind hypertext, you can read and comprehend material extremely fast. Hypertext lets you select just what you want to read. If you understand what you are reading, just keep at it. Otherwise, the hypertext leads you immediately to further explanations. Understanding hypertext is so crucial to the DosEA series, that the first program, "For Absolute Beginners," is all about how to use hypertext. Even though the DosEA series is about DOS, the first program isn't about DOS, at all. Rather, it's about using hypertext. This second program in the series, "What is DOS?", then uses hypertext to introduce DOS. The succeeding programs also use hypertext to explain further details about DOS. <<< Page 5 >>> ************************* ** Who is DosEA for? ** ************************* DosEA is for people who want an easy way to learn about DOS. It is for people who need to use personal computers, but do not have the time to get a degree in Computer Science. This includes . . . > Business people who need to get business done. > Employees who need to get work done. > Students wanting to get ahead fast. > Home computer users trying to get up to speed. > User groups helping new members. Experienced computer users may find this program helpful in another way. When you are asked those endless streams of questions about . . . "how does this . . . " . . . or . . . "why is it that . . ." . . . just pass along this program. The recipient will be grateful and you will save yourself a lot of explanations. <<< Page 6 >>> ************************ ** What is DosEA 2? ** ************************ "DosEA 2 -- What is DOS?" is an MS-DOS tutorial written in hypertext. Simply stated, hypertext is one of the easiest ways to read and learn new information. Here are some reasons why: > It has chapters like a regular book, so the reader has a feeling for "beginning," "middle," and "end." > It has an index which can be accessed at the press of a single key. > It has "hyperwords," which are highlighted words in the text. If you come across a highlighted word and you know what it means, just keep reading; otherwise, select it like a menu item and immediately get more information. Some of the DosEA programs have hands-on practice for MS-DOS commands. The hypertext explains a command. Then, the computer demonstrates it. Next, the user tries it. The computer double checks the effort and, if a command is not entered correctly after three tries, the computer shows how it is done. How often have you read a computer book which used technical lingo you did not understand? How frustrated have you become digging in vague indexes and flipping through pages? DosEA solves that. If you are reading DosEA and come across a highlighted technical word you do not understand, all you have to do is place the cursor on the word and press . The computer will immediately display a detailed explanation. To go back, just press , and you do not even lose your place. But, why read about it, here? Why not start the program? <<< Page 7 >>> ******************** ** Installation ** ******************** What this program needs: > 512K of memory > Any monitor > MS-DOS 2.0 or higher No installation is required. **************** ** Tutorial ** **************** You should already know about hypertext before you use DosEA 2. If you need a tutorial, one is provided with DosEA 1, which you can get with the order form in the ORDERFRM.TXT file. <<< Page 8 >>> ****************** ** Appendix A ** ****************** The files included with DosEA. DosEA2.EXE The program, itself. DosEA2.OVL An overlay. MANUAL.TXT This file! PRINTMAN.BAT A batch file to print the manual. README.TXT A file with important information about DosEA. README.BAT A batch file which displays README.TXT. ORDERFRM.TXT The order form to register. REGISTER.BAT A batch file to print the order form. VENDOR.DOC A text file with information for vendors. <<< Page 9 >>> ****************** ** Appendix B ** ****************** Troubleshooting. >>> The hypertext words are not highlighted. Adjust the brightness and contrast of your video display. >>> You get a "Bad command or filename" message. You did not do an exercise properly. The program filters your commands before issuing them to MS-DOS. If an exercise says enter "DIR" and you enter "TYPE," even though "TYPE" is a legal command, you will get an error message. Since this program is written for beginners, this prevents anyone from mistakenly entering a damaging command. >>> You get a "file not found" message. The default disk drive and directory may not be correct. Assuming that the program is in the "A" disk drive . . . Enter: A: Enter: CD \ Otherwise, you did not get all of the program files. See Appendix A for a list of files. >>> You get a "window failed" message. Probably the defaults are not set correctly. The program must be able to access the DOSEA2.OVL file. See the explanation directly above on how to set the defaults. Otherwise, you may not have enough memory in your computer.