FreeDOS's Linux Roots

Jim Hall — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 11:30:00 +0000

On June 29, 2019, the FreeDOS Project turns 25 years old. That's a major milestone for any open-source software project! In honor of this anniversary, Jim Hall shares this look at how FreeDOS got started and describes its Linux roots.

The Origins of FreeDOS

I've been involved with computers from an early age. In the late 1970s, my family bought an Apple II computer. It was here that I taught myself how to write programs in AppleSoft BASIC. These were not always simple programs. I quickly advanced from writing trivial "math quiz" programs to more complex "Dungeons and Dragons"-style adventure games, complete with graphics.

In the early 1980s, my parents replaced the Apple with an IBM Personal Computer running MS-DOS. Compared to the Apple, the PC had a much more powerful command line. You could connect simple utilities and commands to do more complex functions. I fell in love with DOS.

Throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, I considered myself a DOS "power user". I taught myself how to write programs in C and created new DOS command-line utilities that enhanced my MS-DOS experience. Some of my custom utilities merely reproduced the MS-DOS command line with a few extra features. Other programs added new functionality to my command-line experience.

I discovered Linux in 1993 and instantly recognized it as a Big Deal. Linux had a command line that was much more powerful than MS-DOS, and you could view the source code to study the Linux commands, fix bugs and add new features. I installed Linux on my computer, in a dual-boot configuration with MS-DOS. Since Linux didn't have the applications I needed as a working college student (a word processor to write class papers or a spreadsheet program to do physics lab analysis), I booted into MS-DOS to do much of my classwork and into Linux to do other things. I was moving to Linux, but I still relied on MS-DOS.

In 1994, I read articles in technology magazines saying that Microsoft planned to do away with MS-DOS soon. The next version of Windows would not use DOS. MS-DOS was on the way out. I'd already tried Windows 3, and I wasn't impressed. Windows was not great. And, running Windows would mean replacing the DOS applications that I used every day. I wanted to keep using DOS. I decided that the only way to keep DOS was to write my own. On June 29, 1994, I announced my plans on the Usenet discussion group comp.os.msdos.apps, and things took off from there:

ANNOUNCEMENT OF PD-DOS PROJECT:

A few months ago, I posted articles relating to starting a public domain version of DOS. The general support for this at the time was strong, and many people agreed with the statement, "start writing!" So, I have...

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FreeDOS Is 23 Years Old, and Counting

Jim Hall — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 20:49:57 +0000

by Jim Hall

The FreeDOS Project has just reached its 23rd birthday! This is a major milestone for any free software or open-source software project.

If you don't know about FreeDOS, it's a small project that replaces MS-DOS, which was the mainstay operating system for most personal computers in the 1980s and 1990s. During that era, I was a huge MS-DOS fan. I used DOS for everything and considered myself a DOS "power-user". I even wrote my own utilities and tools to expand the MS-DOS command-line environment and make DOS more useful.

I was aware of other operating systems, of course. In the early 1990s, my university installed Windows in the PC computer labs. But if you remember Windows 3.1 at the time, it was a pretty rough environment. I didn't like that you could interact with Windows only via a mouse; there was no command line. I preferred working at the command line.

So I was understandably distressed in 1994 when I read via various tech magazines that Microsoft planned to eliminate MS-DOS with the next version of Windows. I decided that if the next evolution of Windows was going to be anything like Windows 3.1, I wanted nothing to do with it.

But what to do? If Microsoft killed MS-DOS, what would be left for those of us who preferred typing at the DOS command line? Sure, there was Linux, but Linux couldn't run MS-DOS applications—and there were a lot of great DOS applications.

I decided to create my own version of DOS. And on June 29, 1994, I posted an announcement to a discussion group, which said in part:

A few months ago, I posted articles relating to starting a public domain version of DOS. The general support for this at the time was strong, and many people agreed with the statement, "start writing!" So, I have...

Announcing the first effort to produce a PD-DOS. I have written up a "manifest" describing the goals of such a project and an outline of the work, as well as a "task list" that shows exactly what needs to be written. I'll post those here, and let discussion follow.

Our "PD-DOS" project (for "Public Domain DOS") quickly grew into FreeDOS. And 23 years later, FreeDOS is still going strong!

Today, many people around the world install FreeDOS to play classic DOS games, run legacy business software or develop embedded systems. These days, I think that still represents most of the usage of FreeDOS. Although I'll admit most people probably run FreeDOS to play DOS games, and that's okay with me. Just because it's an old game doesn't mean it's boring—and DOS had a lot of great games.

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