The era of DOS programs so big that they needed every byte of memory is all but over. Those big, complex, and hard to satisfy programs were the first to be replaced by Windows versions. Now that Windows has been with us for a few generations, (of Windows, not users) those old DOS programs are certain to have been replaced years ago.
DOS now serves as a platform for programs which need to run very close to hardware. Windows guards the silicon so well these programs have great difficulty getting their work done under such watchful eyes. Examples are games and system utilities: Both must deal 'under the table' and although they are unusually complex, they also leave small footprints on memory. DOS provided these programs with the freedom they need, and these programs in turn, make such small demands on system resources DOS can easily meet their needs.
On today's systems, I'd be very surprised to find a DOS based program that couldn't run within the memory provided by a DOS window or DOS mode. I'm not saying it couldn't happen -- I'm saying that if it did, it would be a hold-over from a long, long, way back.
Cheers, PW. |
