DOS Utilities
The following software packages are highly recommended for those who use MS-DOS
regularly. (These packages were not authored by Eric Martz. Eric Martz
has no financial connection with their vendors.)
- 4DOS from JP Software -- the
powerful, logical, well-documented command processor Microsoft never got
around to writing! Filename completion, editable command recall, and
much much more. I work in DOS whenever possible, and
all of my DOS work is done in 4DOS. Shareware.
-
ZTreeWin is a DOS file manager upgraded for compatibility with
long filenames, etc. It is especially wonderful for people who liked
using XTreeGold under DOS, as it has almost exactly the same interface.
Commercial with free 30-day trial.
Martz Free DOS Utilities
Software and website copyright © 2001 by Eric Martz
Software created 1986-1996.
Website created November 2001.
Agreement:
The DOS utilities below authored by
Eric Martz are provided free for
all users
and without support.
(Statements within some of the programs requiring licensing
or shareware agreements are obsolete and may be disregarded.)
By the act of using
these programs
you agree to accept full responsibility for verifying their
suitability for your
purposes. No warranty is made nor implied. The author will not be liable
for any damages related to this software. Although efforts have been
made to ensure that these programs are free of viruses, it is always
good practice to scan downloaded software for viruses before executing it.
- 1KeyCD.EXE alias X.EXE: Find the directory you need and
change to it with maximum efficiency and minimum keystrokes. Download
X.EXE.
Put X.EXE on your PATH. It is self-explanatory, or run it
and press F1 for instructions.
I have used this program dozens of times each day for over a decade.
See * below.
- HOPTWIG.EXE alias F.EXE: Jump to any of 6
frequently used directories in a single keystroke. Copy files
from another directory by prefixing their names with a
one-keystroke path.
Rename HOPTWIG.EXE to F.EXE and put it on your PATH.
"F ?" for instructions.
Download
HOPTWIG.EXE. I use HOPTWIG daily. See * below.
- SEM.EXE calculates the mean, standard deviation, and standard
error of the mean for groups of numbers typed at the prompt. Accepts
up to 30 numbers in a group. Here is what SEM looks
like in action.
Download SEM.EXE
- MFI.EXE analyses flow cytometry data. See the
MFI Home Page.
* Both 1KeyCD and HOPTWIG require ANSI.SYS. Use the ANSI.SYS that is in
your c:\windows\command directory. (The NANSI.SYS mentioned in the
programs doesn't work with recent versions of DOS.) To install ANSI.SYS,
include the line DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ANSI.SYS in your
CONFIG.SYS file, then reboot.
The following programs are less-often used but handy when needed:
-
CMP.EXE
does a byte-by-byte compare between two
files, reporting the offset and values of the first byte which
differs. Optionally it will ignore differences below a specified
offset.
-
POISSON.EXE
calculates the Poisson distribution,
given the number of events per container, and the total number of
containers to be observed.
-
WC.EXE
counts characters, words, and lines in a text file, and reports
the length and position of the longest line.
Here is what a DOS session with SEM looks like. The only parts typed
by the user are shown in red.
c:\>sem
SEM version 1.3 by Eric Martz
Use ^P to toggle printer on/off.
Enter replicate observations for each group on a single
line, separated by spaces (or commas), then hit return.
Type ? for help.
Data/command? 142 117 98 106
N=4 Mean=115.7500 SD=19.1551 SEM=9.5775 (8.3% of Mean)
Data/command?q
c:\>