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Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22
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Bottom-Line: Comprehensive and complete "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" has earned its place on my book shelve of must have computer reference material.
I know what you're thinking: what is he doing writing a review about and outdated Operating System (OS) that has long since disappeared from the computing scene? But, you see, MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) may be a quaint notion in today's world filled with millions of Windows 98/2000/XP desktops, but the workhorse OS is far from dead, far from irrelevant. If fact, portions of it are still very necessary from a Systems Administration standpoint even under Windows 2000/XP where the MS-DOS kernel has been vanquished; well almost.
Under Windows 2000/XP, a DOS virtual window can be opened and some pretty powerful and necessary DOS commands can be executed. For example, there is probably no more powerful (free) tool for coping large numbers of files than XCOPY, which can be initiated from a Windows 2000/XP comment window, or DOS virtual machine. Add to that FDISK, EDIT, MEM, and FORMAT, all DOS commands that can be carried out under Windows 2000/XP.
And I still heavily utilize my Windows 98 boot disk; it is an essential part of my trouble-shooting arsenal, I wouldn't work on a PC without one. It may be labeled Windows 98 Boot Disk, but its underpinnings are all MS-DOS 6.22. If I run across a PC that is running Windows 95, or 98 and I want to either rebuild the machine, I have to have a DOS (Windows 98) boot disk in order to reload Windows.
And one last nugget: TCP/IP is now the default networking protocol, and almost all of its commands such as IPCONFIG, PING, GOPHER, and TELNET, must be executed in a DOS, or command environment.
So you see MS-DOS 6.22, that last full blown incarnation of DOS is still very relevant in today's graphical environment. And it helps to remain knowledgeable on the OS and it commands; there is where "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" comes into the picture. Checking in at a mammoth 1,150 pages "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22 6th Edition"--published in 1994, is one of the most, if not the most comprehensive guide to MS-DOS 6.22 available today. The book is divided into the following sections:
* Part 1 Getting Acquainted
* Part 2 DOS Shell
* Part 3 DOS Commands
* Part 4 Managing Your System
* Part 5 Advanced DOS
* Part 6 Command Reference
In the front of "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" is a very useful Procedure Quick Reference Guide, a how to guide for carrying out the most common DOS commands and functions. The Guide asks a question and then point the reader to the page where the answer can be found; e.g. How to Rename a Directory Tree in DOS Shell; Page 83, or How to Rename Files in DOS Shell; Page 125.
"Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" is filled with great examples such as the one above for carrying out real live DOS commands. This alone makes the book an invaluable resource. Microsoft never did go into great depth about what DOS command do, and what you the end-user can expect as an outcome. There is help function is DOS, which you can get to by typing any DOS command at the command prompt followed by a (?) mark; e.g. DISKCOPY /?, but you had to know how the command worked in order to manipulate it effectively. The DOS help really only helps with syntax, whereas "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" goes deeper into the command or functions taking great pains to explain what exactly happens and what to expect.
The end of the book (over 200 pages) contains a through Command Reference Section wherein every DOS command is covered starting with the chapter the command can be found under, an explanation of what the command does, followed by the correct syntax(s), parameters and or switches, examples of that syntax(s), and notes if needed.
"Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" covers all of the bases very nicely; after reading the all four pages on XCOPY the average system administrator should come away with a better then average understanding of the command and it functionality. And as I stated above XCOPY can and is--at least by me--used under Windows 98/2000/XP environments.
Conclusion
For me "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" is an indispensable guide to all things DOS, and in my (humble) opinion is a must have for any system administrator, or anyone who just want to know more about DOS. Comprehensive and complete Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22 has earned its place on my book shelve of must have computer reference material.
I know what you're thinking: what is he doing writing a review about and outdated Operating System (OS) that has long since disappeared from the computing scene? But, you see, MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) may be a quaint notion in today's world filled with millions of Windows 98/2000/XP desktops, but the workhorse OS is far from dead, far from irrelevant. If fact, portions of it are still very necessary from a Systems Administration standpoint even under Windows 2000/XP where the MS-DOS kernel has been vanquished; well almost.
Under Windows 2000/XP, a DOS virtual window can be opened and some pretty powerful and necessary DOS commands can be executed. For example, there is probably no more powerful (free) tool for coping large numbers of files than XCOPY, which can be initiated from a Windows 2000/XP comment window, or DOS virtual machine. Add to that FDISK, EDIT, MEM, and FORMAT, all DOS commands that can be carried out under Windows 2000/XP.
And I still heavily utilize my Windows 98 boot disk; it is an essential part of my trouble-shooting arsenal, I wouldn't work on a PC without one. It may be labeled Windows 98 Boot Disk, but its underpinnings are all MS-DOS 6.22. If I run across a PC that is running Windows 95, or 98 and I want to either rebuild the machine, I have to have a DOS (Windows 98) boot disk in order to reload Windows.
And one last nugget: TCP/IP is now the default networking protocol, and almost all of its commands such as IPCONFIG, PING, GOPHER, and TELNET, must be executed in a DOS, or command environment.
So you see MS-DOS 6.22, that last full blown incarnation of DOS is still very relevant in today's graphical environment. And it helps to remain knowledgeable on the OS and it commands; there is where "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" comes into the picture. Checking in at a mammoth 1,150 pages "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22 6th Edition"--published in 1994, is one of the most, if not the most comprehensive guide to MS-DOS 6.22 available today. The book is divided into the following sections:
* Part 1 Getting Acquainted
* Part 2 DOS Shell
* Part 3 DOS Commands
* Part 4 Managing Your System
* Part 5 Advanced DOS
* Part 6 Command Reference
In the front of "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" is a very useful Procedure Quick Reference Guide, a how to guide for carrying out the most common DOS commands and functions. The Guide asks a question and then point the reader to the page where the answer can be found; e.g. How to Rename a Directory Tree in DOS Shell; Page 83, or How to Rename Files in DOS Shell; Page 125.
"Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" is filled with great examples such as the one above for carrying out real live DOS commands. This alone makes the book an invaluable resource. Microsoft never did go into great depth about what DOS command do, and what you the end-user can expect as an outcome. There is help function is DOS, which you can get to by typing any DOS command at the command prompt followed by a (?) mark; e.g. DISKCOPY /?, but you had to know how the command worked in order to manipulate it effectively. The DOS help really only helps with syntax, whereas "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" goes deeper into the command or functions taking great pains to explain what exactly happens and what to expect.
The end of the book (over 200 pages) contains a through Command Reference Section wherein every DOS command is covered starting with the chapter the command can be found under, an explanation of what the command does, followed by the correct syntax(s), parameters and or switches, examples of that syntax(s), and notes if needed.
"Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" covers all of the bases very nicely; after reading the all four pages on XCOPY the average system administrator should come away with a better then average understanding of the command and it functionality. And as I stated above XCOPY can and is--at least by me--used under Windows 98/2000/XP environments.
Conclusion
For me "Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22" is an indispensable guide to all things DOS, and in my (humble) opinion is a must have for any system administrator, or anyone who just want to know more about DOS. Comprehensive and complete Peter Norton's Complete Guide to DOS 6.22 has earned its place on my book shelve of must have computer reference material.