FreeDOS

FreeDOS
FreeDOS 1.1 default shell, FreeCOM
DeveloperJim Hall & The FreeDOS team
Written inAssembly language, C[1]
OS familyDOS
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source[2]
Initial release16 September 1994; 29 years ago (1994-09-16)[3]
Latest release1.3 / 20 February 2022; 2 years ago (2022-02-20)[4]
Latest preview1.3 RC5 / 14 December 2021; 2 years ago (2021-12-14)[5]
Repository
Available inEnglish, German, Dutch, French, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish
Platformsx86
Kernel typeMonolithic kernel[6]
Influenced byMS-DOS
Default
user interface
Command-line interface (COMMAND.COM)
LicenseGNU GPL[2] with various different licenses for utilities
Official websitefreedos.org

FreeDOS (formerly Free-DOS and PD-DOS) is a free software operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. It intends to provide a complete MS-DOS-compatible environment for running legacy software and supporting embedded systems.[7]

FreeDOS can be booted from a floppy disk or USB flash drive.[8][9] It is designed to run well under virtualization or x86 emulation.[10]

Unlike most versions of MS-DOS,[11] FreeDOS is composed of free software, licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.[2] However, other packages that form part of the FreeDOS project include non-GPL software considered worthy of preservation, such as 4DOS, which is distributed under a modified MIT License.[12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference FreeDOS_Spec was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference FDOS_2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference FreeDOS_A1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference FreeDOS-History was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference FD13RC4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Villani_1996_Kernel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference homepage was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Franske_2007_USB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference FreeDOS_Floppy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gallagher_2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Turner_2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference 4DOS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).