A graphical user interface featuring windows, menus, dialog boxes, and controls for applicationsMicrosoft Windows has many features that the standard DOS environment does not. For this reason, Windows applications may, at first, seem more complex than standard DOS programs. This is understandable when you consider some of the additional features that Windows offers. These include:
A graphical user interface featuring windows, menus, dialog boxes, and controls for applications
Queued input
Device-independent graphics
Multitasking
Data interchange between applications
When writing applications for the DOS environment, most C programmers use the standard C run-time library to carry out a program's input, output, memory management, and other activities. The C run-time library assumes a standard operating environment consisting of a character-based terminal for user input and output, and exclusive access to system memory as well as to the input and output devices of the computer. In Windows, these assumptions are no longer valid. Windows applications share the computer's resources, including the CPU, with other applications. Windows applications interact with the user through a graphics-based display, a keyboard, and a mouse.
The following sections describe some of the major differences between standard DOS applications and Windows applications.