DOS Stuff for Old-timers
Here are a few programs which imitate UNIX functionality, written for DOS. They were originally written and compiled on a DOS machine (Intel 16 bit). Therefore, they will work from DOS or the Command Prompt on Windows 3.x, 9x, or NT 4.0 (presumably, Windows 2000 and Windows ME).
In today's environment, they aren't really very useful, but there are a few of us throwbacks who still like to fool around from a command prompt. These are here for your use and enjoyment. Some of these programs are very much fully functional mimics of their UNIX counterparts, some others lack the full range of functionality.
I wrote all the code for everything on this page, so you are free to use them without violating laws or copyrights. I have not maintained any of these programs for 5 to 7 years, and don't intend to resume. Therefore, if you find any bugs (which surely do exist), either live with them or don't use the program anymore.
The 'man' program provides usage information for (I think) all the executables except one (lap). It is rather DOS-like in it's functionality. There are several components, man.exe and several man!*.exe files. All files must reside in the same directory. Only man.exe is directly executable by the user. You can get started by typing 'man man' at your prompt.
One executable, vtf.exe, has no direct counterpart in UNIX. The origins of this date back to about 1990 when a friend asked for a simple way to compare two text files, line by line. This is documented in man.
The lap.exe program also is pure DOS. It produces loan amortization schedules. You move from field to field by using the "enter" key. Fields with more than one choice can be navigated with the up and down arrow keys. Hitting the "enter" key in the last field produces the schedule.
To download a file, do a 'right click' and choose the 'save as' option.
| banner.exe | cal.exe | cat.exe | cut.exe | grep.exe |
| head.exe | join.exe | man.zip | paste.exe | pg.exe |
| sed.exe | split.exe | tail.exe | timex.com | touch.exe |
| uniq.exe | vtf.exe | wc.exe | lap.exe | ALL FILES |
Times accessed: .
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GCS/S d- s:+ a++ C++ UL/V P+ L+ E--- W++@ !N !o K- w---
!O !M V PS--- PE++ Y- PGP- t+ 5-- X !R tv-- b++ DI+++++
!D G-- e+++ h---- r+++ z+
-----END GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
