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PATHEXT
A COM file is a type of simple executable file. On the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX operating systems of the 1970s, .COM was used as a filename extension for text files containing commands to be issued to the operating system (similar to a batch file). With the introduction of Digital Research's CP/M (a microcomputer operating system modeled after TOPS-10 for the PDP-10), the type of files commonly associated with COM extension changed to that of executable files. This convention was later carried over to DOS. Even when complemented by the more general EXE file format for executables, the compact COM files remained viable and frequently used under DOS. The .COM file name extension has no relation to the .com (for "commercial") top-level Internet domain name. However, this similarity in name has been exploited by malware writers. DOS binary format The COM format is the original binary executable format used in CP/M (including SCP and MSX-DOS) as well as DOS. It i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batch File
A batch file is a Scripting language, script file in DOS, OS/2 and Microsoft Windows. It consists of a series of Command (computing), commands to be executed by the command-line interpreter, stored in a plain text file. A batch file may contain any command the interpreter accepts interactively and use constructs that enable conditional branching and looping within the batch file, such as If statement, IF, Foreach loop, FOR, and GOTO label (computer science), labels. The term "batch" is from batch processing, meaning "non-interactive execution", though a batch file might not process a ''batch'' of multiple data. Similar to Job Control Language (JCL), DIGITAL Command Language, DCL and other systems on mainframe and minicomputer systems, batch files were added to ease the work required for certain regular tasks by allowing the user to set up a script to automate them. When a batch file is run, the Shell (computing), shell program (usually COMMAND.COM or cmd.exe) reads the file and ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Executable
In computer science, executable code, an executable file, or an executable program, sometimes simply referred to as an executable or binary, causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction (computer science), instructions", as opposed to a data (computing), data file that must be interpreted (parser, parsed) by an interpreter (computing), interpreter to be functional. The exact interpretation depends upon the use. "Instructions" is traditionally taken to mean machine code instructions for a physical central processing unit, CPU. In some contexts, a file containing scripting instructions (such as bytecode) may also be considered executable. Generation of executable files Executable files can be hand-coded in machine language, although it is far more convenient to develop software as source code in a high-level language that can be easily understood by humans. In some cases, source code might be specified in assembly language instead, which rema ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MSX-DOS
MSX-DOS is a discontinued disk operating system developed by Microsoft's Japan subsidiary for the 8-bit home computer standard MSX, and is a cross between MS-DOS v1.25 and CP/M-80 v2.2. MSX-DOS MSX-DOS and the extended BASIC with 3½-inch floppy disk support were simultaneously developed by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation as a software and hardware standard for the MSX home computer standard, to add disk capabilities to BASIC and to give the system a cheaper software medium than Memory Cartridges, and a more powerful storage system than cassette tape. The standard BIOS of an unexpanded MSX computer had no built-in disk support, but provided hooks for a disk extension, so the additional floppy disk expansion system came with its own BIOS extension ROM (built-in on the disk controller) called the BDOS. This BIOS not only added floppy disk support commands to MSX BASIC, but also a booting system, with which it was possible to boot a real disk operating system. MSX-DOS w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MP/M
MP/M (Multi-Programming Monitor Control Program) is a discontinued multi-user version of the CP/M operating system, created by Digital Research developer Tom Rolander in 1979. It allowed multiple users to connect to a single computer, each using a separate terminal. MP/M was a fairly advanced operating system for its era, at least on microcomputers. It included a priority-scheduled multitasking kernel (before such a name was used, the kernel was referred to as the ''nucleus'') with memory protection, concurrent input/output (XIOS) and support for spooling and queueing. It also allowed for each user to run multiple programs, and switch between them. MP/M platforms MP/M-80 The 8-bit system required a 8080 (or Z80) CPU and a minimum of 32 KB of RAM to run, but this left little memory for user applications. In order to support reasonable setups, MP/M allowed for memory to be switched in and out of the machine's "real memory" area. So for instance a program might be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zero Page
The zero page or base page is the block of memory at the very beginning of a computer's address space; that is, the page whose starting address is zero. The size of a page depends on the context, and the significance of zero page memory versus higher addressed memory is highly dependent on machine architecture. For example, the Motorola 6800 and MOS Technology 6502 processor families treat the first 256 bytes of memory specially, whereas many other processors do not. Unlike more modern hardware, in the 1970s computer RAM speed was similar to that of CPUs. Thus it made sense to have few registers and use the main memory as an extended pool of extra registers. In machines with a relatively wide 16-bit address bus and comparatively narrow 8-bit data bus, calculating an address in memory could take several cycles. The zero page's one-byte address was smaller and therefore faster to read and calculate than other locations, making the zero page useful for high-performance code. Zero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intel 8080
The Intel 8080 is Intel's second 8-bit computing, 8-bit microprocessor. Introduced in April 1974, the 8080 was an enhanced successor to the earlier Intel 8008 microprocessor, although without binary compatibility.'' Electronic News'' was a weekly trade newspaper. The same advertisement appeared in the :File:Intel 8080 Advertisement May 1974.jpg, May 2, 1974, issue of ''Electronics'' magazine. Originally intended for use in Embedded system, embedded systems such as calculators, cash registers, computer terminals, and industrial robots, its robust performance soon led to adoption in a broader range of systems, ultimately helping to launch the microcomputer industry. Several key design choices contributed to the 8080’s success. Its 40‑pin package simplified interfacing compared to the 8008’s 18‑pin design, enabling a more efficient data bus. The transition to NMOS logic, NMOS technology provided faster transistor speeds than the 8008's PMOS logic, PMOS while also simplifyin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entry Point
In computer programming, an entry point is the place in a program where the execution of a program begins, and where the program has access to command line arguments. To start a program's execution, the loader or operating system passes control to its entry point. (During booting, the operating system ''itself'' is the program). This marks the transition from load time (and dynamic link time, if present) to run time. For some operating systems and programming languages, the entry point is in a runtime library, a set of support functions for the language. The library code initializes the program and then passes control to the program proper. In other cases, the program may initialize the runtime library itself. In simple systems, execution begins at the first statement, which is common in interpreted languages, simple executable formats, and boot loaders. In other cases, the entry point is at some other known memory address which can be an absolute address or re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Program Segment Prefix
The Program Segment Prefix (PSP) is a data structure used in DOS systems to store the state of a program. It resembles the Zero Page in the CP/M operating system. The PSP has the following structure: The PSP is most often used to get the command line arguments of a DOS program; for example, the command "FOO.EXE /A /F" executes FOO.EXE with the arguments '/A' and '/F'. If the PSP entry for the command line length is non-zero and the pointer to the environment segment is neither 0000h nor FFFFh, programs should first try to retrieve the command line from the environment variable %CMDLINE% before extracting it from the PSP. This way, it is possible to pass command lines longer than 126 characters to applications. The segment address of the PSP is passed in the DS register when the program is executed. It can also be determined later by using Int 21h function 51h or Int 21h function 62h. Either function will return the PSP address in register BX. Alternatively, in .COM prog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loader (computing)
In computing, computer systems a loader is the part of an operating system that is responsible for loading computer program, programs and Library (computing), libraries. It is one of the essential stages in the process of starting a program, as it places programs into memory and prepares them for execution. Loading a program involves either memory-mapped file, memory-mapping or copying the contents of the executable, executable file containing the program instructions into memory, and then carrying out other required preparatory tasks to prepare the executable for running. Once loading is complete, the operating system starts the program by passing control to the loaded program code. All operating systems that support program loading have loaders, apart from highly specialized computer systems that only have a fixed set of specialized programs. Embedded systems typically do not have loaders, and instead, the code executes directly from ROM or similar. In order to load the operatin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Relocation (computing)
In software development, relocation is the process of assigning load addresses for position-dependent code and data of a program and adjusting the code and data to reflect the assigned addresses. A linker usually performs relocation in conjunction with ''symbol resolution'', the process of searching files and libraries to replace symbolic references or names of libraries with actual usable addresses in memory before running a program. Relocation is typically done by the linker at link time, but it can also be done at load time by a relocating loader, or at run time by the running program itself. Segmentation Object files are typically segmented into various memory segment or section types. Example segment types include code segment (.text), initialized data segment (.data), uninitialized data segment (.bss), or others as established by the programmer, such as common segments, or named static segments. Relocation table The relocation table is a list of address ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
X86 Memory Segmentation
x86 memory segmentation is a term for the kind of memory segmentation characteristic of the Intel x86 computer instruction set architecture. The x86 architecture has supported memory segmentation since the original Intel 8086 (1978), but ''x86 memory segmentation'' is a plainly descriptive retronym. The introduction of memory segmentation mechanisms in this architecture reflects the legacy of earlier 80xx processors, which initially could only address 16, or later 64 KB of memory (16,384 or 65,536 bytes), and whose instructions and registers were optimised for the latter. Dealing with larger addresses and more memory was thus comparably slower, as that capability was somewhat grafted-on in the Intel 8086. Memory segmentation could keep programs compatible, relocatable in memory, and by confining significant parts of a program's operation to 64 KB segments, the program could still run faster. In 1982, the Intel 80286 added support for virtual memory and memory pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Data Segment
In computing, a data segment (often denoted .data) is a portion of an object file or the corresponding address space of a program that contains initialized static variables, that is, global variables and static local variables. The size of this segment is determined by the size of the values in the program's source code, and does not change at run time. The data segment is read/write, since the values of variables can be altered at run time. This is in contrast to the ''read-only data segment'' ('' segment'' or ''.rodata''), which contains static constants rather than variables; it also contrasts to the code segment, also known as the text segment, which is read-only on many architectures. Uninitialized data, both variables and constants, is instead in the .bss segment. Historically, to be able to support memory address spaces larger than the native size of the internal address register would allow, early CPUs implemented a system of segmentation whereby they would store a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
