Working of Internal Command
- You open the command shell application (e.g., Command Prompt).
- You type an internal command (e.g., DIR) and press Enter.
- The command shell recognizes the internal command because it’s part of its built-in library.
- The command shell executes the instruction directly without needing to load any external files.
- The results of the command are displayed on the screen (e.g., a list of files in the current directory for the DIR command).
What is an Internal Command?
DOS Commands are important instructions for managing files and directories in Windows. They’re case-insensitive and follow the 8-dot format for file names. Each file has a primary name (up to 8 characters) and a secondary name (up to 4 characters with a dot). Common secondary names include .txt for text files, .com for command files, .sys for system files, and so on.
Special characters like < > , . / * ? | & Space are not allowed in file or directory names.
Internal commands are integral to Windows, embedded in the command.com file, and easily accessible. They’re important for smooth operation and are always available, whereas external commands are effective tools that can fix issues, enhance performance, and perform different actions. They’re stored individually from internal commands to reduce system load. You can add external commands to Windows by copying their files to your computer when needed.