Source code of MS-DOS opened as open source will be released on GitHub

by Jeff Dlouhy

" MS - DOS ", which is an OS for PCs developed and sold by Microsoft, is one of the most important software in computer history. Source code of such MS - DOS finally was released on GitHub.

GitHub - Microsoft / MS - DOS: The original sources of MS - DOS 1.25 and 2.0, for reference purposes
https://github.com/Microsoft/MS-DOS

Re-Open-Sourcing MS-DOS 1.25 and 2.0 - Windows Command Line Tools For Developers
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commandline/2018/09/28/re-open-sourcing-ms-dos-1-25-and-2-0/

Microsoft MS-DOS early source code | @ CHM Blog | Computer History Museum
http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/microsoft-ms-dos-early-source-code/

In 1980, IBM, which began developing the PC to become an IBM PC later, asked Microsoft to develop a new OS. So, Microsoft could not afford to hand OS development at that time Microsoft acquired a license for the OS created by Seattle Computer Products , and based on that, he made MS-DOS.

Later, Seattle Computer Products filed a lawsuit as Microsoft illegally exploited its profits as "Microsoft has hidden the existence of IBM behind behind to make a license agreement." As a result, in 1986 Microsoft has settled by paying 1 million dollars (about 110 million yen) to Seattle Computer Products.

The source code of MS-DOS was released to the public under the cooperation of the computer history museum in 2014, and engineers around the world were able to see important source code widely used in the 1980s . According to the fact that Microsoft has made source code publicly available, young engineers have learned about the roots of PC and can obtain more knowledge.

Microsoft released MS-DOS and Word source code publicly, the size is less than 300 KB - GIGAZINE

In the released source code, a lot of jokes and mischiefs written by developers at the time were hidden and collected topics. Some valuable discoveries that developers are aware of, such as sentences that shuffled a passage of Shakespeare and F words such as "F ** k" are hidden.

Numerous jokes and pranksters were hidden in the published MS-DOS and Word code - GIGAZINE

MS-DOS source code was downloadable on the site of the computer history museum, but the source code of MS-DOS is to be made public on GitHub which is a new platform for software development It was. According to GitHub's publication, it is easier to refer than the original download file.

The source code of MS-DOS is released on GitHub of software development platform, but it is "disclosure for reference purpose" which obtains historical knowledge to the last. Therefore, the source code is supposed to be kept statically, and it is warned that "Please do not send a request to change the source file like other code".