DOS or not? [was Re: How to tell Script to use pythonw.exe ?]

[Andrew Berg]

On 2013.07.03 02:34, Tim Golden wrote:
> While this is clearly true, it's by no means unusual for people to refer
> to the "DOS Box" or talk about "DOS commands" etc. even when they're
> quite well aware of the history of Windows and its Console subsystem.
> It's just quicker than saying "Console Window" or something.
> 
> I mention this because it seems to get called out every time someone
> uses the term "DOS" on this and other Python lists and it can smack
> slightly of pedantry.
It's not as ambiguous (or as common) as it used to be, but it has always bothered me when someone refers to the Win32 console as DOS. I try
not to be rude about it, but I really would like to prevent those who are not very familiar with Windows or its history from associating the
limits and internal behavior of MS-DOS with the console subsystem of Windows NT. Especially with the anti-Windows sentiment that seems to be
getting more popular (not that it's entirely without merit, but that's another topic for another day on another list), I'd rather see
operating systems judged on things that are actually true and not miscellaneous FUD spread by ignorance and confusion. I realize it can come
off as pedantic, but what may be obvious to those with of us with a lot of experience with different operating systems over the years can
easily slip past a novice.

BTW, there are several short and unambiguous terms one can use to refer to the Windows CLI environment (or parts thereof): cmd, command
prompt, command line, terminal, console, etc.. Also, I don't think I've ever encountered anyone who prefers to call it DOS even though they
know it's not correct, but if you say it's not unusual, then they're obviously out there, and I'll keep that in mind before jumping in to
correct them.
-- 
CPython 3.3.2 | Windows NT 6.2.9200 / FreeBSD 9.1