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1991-11-18
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WINDOWS SHELL
FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.0
by
Greg McCain
October 25, 1991
Advisor: Charles Dana
Computer Science Department
School of Engineering
California Polytechnic State University
199
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Section
I. Purpose of Windows Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. Features of Windows Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Aliasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Action Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Internal Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Shell Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ABSTRACT
This document discusses the purpose and features of a command line shell for
Microsoft Windows 3.0, the Windows Shell. The Windows Shell allows users launch
both DOS and Windows programs from a command line environment, as well as
perform disk maintenance operations such as copy, deleting, and moving files.
The Windows Shell is implemented in the Microsoft Windows 3.0 environment.
The shell has been tested on systems running Windows in VGA and EGA video
modes. The Windows Shell uses Windows 3.0 non-preemptive multitasking
techniques to allow multiple instances of the Windows Shell to run concurrently, as
well as other programs in the Windows environment.
The Windows Shell introduces several new features to the typical command shell
environment, including interactive editing of Aliases and Environment variables, an
"Action Bar" to quickly execute a command, the ability to set "permanent" options in
shell commands, and customizable fonts and screen colors.
PURPOSE OF WINDOWS SHELL
The Windows Shell fills a gap in the Windows 3.0 environment. The original
environment provides a highly graphic user interface for executing programs and file
management. While this is great for naive users, the graphical interface can become
cumbersome to experienced users. The Windows Shell is intended for experienced
users, providing quick manipulation of files and directories, as well as executing
Windows and DOS programs. The Windows Shell also includes some extra
graphical niceties that are discussed in the following section.
FEATURES OF WINDOWS SHELL
THE COMMAND LINE
figure 1
The Windows Shell provides a command line interface to the windows environment.
The command line is similar in appearance to a DOS shell, with the following
exceptions:
- The Windows Shell prompt allows for text marking, cutting, and pasting.
- The Windows Shell offers the "Action Bar" seen on the left side of the shell
(see figure 1.)
- The Windows Shell allows the user to configure the color and font used by
each instance of the shell.
- The Windows Shell recognizes the '&' character to run a windows program
minimized.
ALIASES
Windows Shell allows the user to define aliases. Aliases allow long or complex
commands to be abbreviated for quick access.
figure 2
Windows shell provides the Alias Editor (as seen above in figure 2) for quick
viewing and editing of aliases.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The Windows 3.0 environment provides environment variables similar to that of
DOS and UNIX. Unfortunately, the environment variables in the Windows Shell
are not inherited by the programs it executes. Each new program gets a copy of the
environment that was recorded when windows was started. However, the
environment variables do effect the shell itself, which is useful for changing the path
or prompt.
figure 3
Windows Shell provides the Environment Editor (as seen above in figure 3) for
quick viewing and editing of environment variables.
ACTION BAR
The action bar is a column of eight buttons along the left side of the shell (see
figure 1) It allows users to execute a predefined command at the press of a button.
The following window is used to configure the action bar:
figure 4
The Button Configuration Window allows the users to define the text seen on
the buttons and the command that is carries out. The user can access text marked
on the Windows Shell using the '=' character. The '=' character is replaced by a
string containing the marked text when the command is executed. This makes it
easy for a user to mark a block of text and perform actions upon it, such as deleting
or editing files.
INTERNAL COMMANDS
Most shells provide shell commands which are built into the shell itself. The
Windows Shell provides only the most basic shell commands, including: change
directory (cd), make directory (md), and remove directory (rd). The rest of the
usual shell commands are implemented as "internal commands".
Each internal commands is a Windows 3.0 Dynamic Link Library (DLL). The
Windows Shell uses a Windows 3.0 DLL loading function to load and run internal
commands. Each internal command must provide a set of functions to execute the
command, show an about box, and show an options box.
The windows shell provides the "internal commands window" to view and
configure internal commands (see figure 5).
figure 5
The options box allows the user to set "permanent" options on a command that will
be invoked each time the command is run. The about box allows the user to view an
about box for the command which could contain useful information on what the
command does and how to use it.
The reason the "internal commands" are implemented as DLL's is that it allows new
commands to be written without modification to the shell. Also, the format of the
DLL is such that a normal DOS shell program can easily be ported to run under the
shell.
SHELL COMMANDS
The user accessible commands contained in Winshell, or Shell Commands, are
as follows:
cd <dirname> : Changes current directory to directory specified in dirname.
md <dirname> : Creates a directory as specified in dirname.
rd <dirname> : Deletes a directory as specified in dirname.
<DRIVE> : : Changes current disk specified to drive specified in DRIVE.
ps : Lists currently running processes.
min <task_name>: Minimizes program with caption matching task_name.
max <task_name>: Maximizes program with caption matching task_name.
kill <task_name>: Closes program with caption matching task_name.
exit : Exits current Windows Shell.
exitwin : Exits Windows.