Editing DOSBox (section)

===OS emulation===
DOSBox is a full-system emulator that provides [[BIOS interrupt call|BIOS interrupts]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Black|first1=Michael David|last2=Komala|first2=Priyadarshini  |title=Proceedings of the 42nd ACM technical symposium on Computer science education |chapter=A full system x86 simulator for teaching computer organization |publisher=[[Association for Computing Machinery]]|date=March 2011|pages=365–366|doi=10.1145/1953163.1953272|isbn=9781450305006|s2cid=8334945}}</ref> and contains its own internal DOS-like [[Shell (computing)|shell]]. This means that it can be used without owning a license to any real DOS operating system. Most commands that are found in [[COMMAND.COM]] are supported,{{Sfn|Manual|2019|loc=4. Internal Programs}} but many of the more advanced commands found in the latest MS-DOS versions are not.<ref name=Glasgow>{{cite journal|url=https://www.planets-project.eu/docs/reports/Planets_TB6-D1F_PA6-D12_BinaryTranslationAndVirtualisation.pdf|title=Preservation of Dynamic & Interactive Content by use of Binary Translation and Virtualisation – a Methodology for Experimentation|last=Konstantelos|first=Leo|journal=[[Planets Project]]|publisher=[[Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute]]|date=July 1, 2010|access-date=December 20, 2020|page=23}}</ref> In addition to its internal shell, it also supports running image files of games and software originally intended to start without any [[operating system]].{{Sfn|Manual|2019|loc=4. Internal Programs}} Besides emulating DOS, users can also run [[Windows 3.0]] and applications designed for it,{{Sfn|Loguidice & Barton|2014|p=241}} as well as versions of Windows within the [[Windows 9x]] family.<ref name=Win9x>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.it/gadget/videogiochi/2019/02/15/migliori-emulatori-per-pc-mac-linux-videogiochi/|title=Videogiochi vintage, i migliori emulatori per pc, Mac e Linux|language=it|trans-title=Vintage video games, the best emulators for PC, Mac and Linux|last=Barbera|first=Diego|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|date=February 15, 2019|access-date=November 11, 2020}}<br>{{cite web|url=https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-get-the-windows-98-experience-on-todays-pcs/3|title=How to get the Windows 98 experience on today's PCs|last=Drake|first=Nate|work=[[TechRadar]]|date=June 25, 2018|access-date=November 11, 2020|page=3}}</ref>

When the DOSBox application is opened, it automatically [[Mount (computing)|mounts]] to a virtual, permanent{{Sfn|Manual|2019|loc=4. Internal Programs}} <code>Z:</code> drive that stores DOSBox commands and utilities.<ref name=Haines>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dsEyDwAAQBAJ|title=Beginning Ubuntu for Windows and Mac Users: Start your Journey into Free and Open Source Software|last=Haines|first=Nathan|publisher=[[Apress]]|date=August 25, 2017|access-date=November 9, 2020|page=131|isbn=9781484230008}}</ref> The reasons for the virtual drive are related to security,<ref name=Koldyrkaev>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/PC-World_Magazine_2008-01|title=Apple Virtualization|language=ru|last=Koldyrkaev|first=Nikolay|magazine=[[PC World]]|date=January 2008|access-date=December 25, 2020|issue=61|page=36}}</ref> but the user can mount a different drive letter in the emulator to a directory, image file, floppy disk drive, or CD-ROM drive on the host to access its data. A configuration file and its [[AUTOEXEC.BAT|AUTOEXEC]] section can be used to respectively configure DOSBox settings and execute DOS commands at startup.{{Sfn|Manual|2019|loc=4. Internal Programs}}