D

ocumentation of Operating Systems

Windows Family

Microsoft has began at 1981 with MSDOS 1.0 to develop operating systems for computers. One
year ahead Microsoft has worked in cooperation on the Unix derivative operating system
XENIX OS for different computer platforms, this OS field however was transferred to SCO in
1984. With Windows 1.0 were added in 1985 beside DOS a second OS line, which was meant
first for single workplaces for Consumer (Home edition) and later with added network
support.
The third product line was started with MS OS/2 1.0 in 1987. The professional edition was for
server applications and network clients designed. In February 1989 the development of
Windows NT started (NT = New Technology), the first version was published with Windows NT
3.1 in July 1993. Up to 200 developers had programmed at the same time on the approx. 6
million code lines. While MS-DOS was programmed nearly completely in assembler, Windows
NT also consists of source code of the programming language C. Up to 450 developers were
involved at the operating system Windows NT 3.51 which was released in May 1995. To record
times up to 800 developers worked on the successor Windows NT 4.0 for the release in July
1996. Windows 2000 was the ambitious project following on this, up to 1.400 developer
worked on the 29 million code lines. The development costs amounted to about 1 billion
dollar. Altogether 5.000 developers worked on the 50 million code lines of assemblers, C and
C++, for the Windows Server 2003 operating system with release in April 2003. The
development of operating system versions for the MIPS, PowerPC and alpha architecture
became gradually cancelled up to the market release of Windows 2000. This was also involved
by the lacking driver and software support for these platforms.
With Windows CE 1.0 a new product line for small devices (PDAs) was created in 1996.
The former splitting into Consumer and Business Windows Edition is to be united with
Windows XP (alias Whistler) again and continued in this product line. Thus is void for the first
time the condition of MSDOS, which need even Windows 95 to ME for the system start.
Directly with all Windows versions so far the drive assembly marking with the letters [A to Z]
whereby the maximally managable number on 26 is limited, exluded mounted network
directorys.
Windows 1.0
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Windows 3.11
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Windows 95
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Windows 98
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Windows NT 3.1
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Windows NT 4.0
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Windows 2000
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Windows XP
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Windows Vista
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Windows Server 2003
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Driver models
MSDOS contains simplest hardware drivers for the access to harddisks, floppy disk drives, file
system, serial and parallel interfaces, which do not correspond to todays modern hardware.
As example color printers can be used to print text by commandline instruction but aren`t
controllable in print quality or color. Hardware drivers can be loaded only statically and are
active also without use loaded up to the restart.
- only 16-bit material mode driver
- only direct hardware access possible (caused by the single tasking system)
With Windows 3.x uniform interfaces were made available for the first time for applications
and drivers. Driver formats of Windows 3.x are 386, drv and dll files.
Under Windows 95 to ME are a large amount of drivers from Windows 3.11 applicable,
however that slows down the 16-bit driver by the frequent access changes between real mode
into the protected mode for 32-bit driver.
In addition the new driver format vxd, which runs completely in the protect mode, cames
with the ability to be loaded dynamic at requirement, depending on the driver type. New

function for Windows is the Plug&Play support of hardware devices, standard drivers are
attached to the operating system. The WDM driver model is provided for the standardization
of drivers for Windows 98 and following operating systems, so far only for devices at the USB
or Firewire channel.
Windows NT makes the setup of device services possible, alternatively with manual or
automatic start or the complete deactivation of the service. The driver format vdd (Virtual
DEVICE Driver's) is available since Windows NT. The drivers are depending upon type separated
in the user mode, in the Kernel mode with direct hardware access or also as virtual device
drivers (VDD) of the operating system core.
2006 should be the next Windows Version Vista with the code name "Longhorn" avaiable. All
Windows Editions should be based on the same core and were extended by specific modules
depending on the field of application, language and hardware.

Versions
Date
1981 Sept.
1983
1985 Nov.
1987 Dec.
1988/89
1990
1992 April
1993 Nov.
1995 Aug.
1996 Feb.
1996 Aug.
1997 April
1997 Nov.
1998 June
1999 May
2000 Sept.
1980 Aug.
1982 Feb.
1983 April
1987
1988
1991
1992
1993 July
1994 Sept.

Version
Interface Manager
Windows was announced
Windows 1.0 for 8088 CPUs released
Windows 2.0 for 386 CPUs, up to 16 mbyte RAM adressable
Windows 2.1 for 286/386
Windows 3.0
3.1 (janus) includes MS-DOS 5.0
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (snowball) rudimentarily networkable
Windows 95 4.0 Codename "Chicago" was released
Windows 95 Version A (OSR1)
Windows 95 (detroit) Version B (OSR2) first time with FAT-32
support
Windows 95 Version B (OSR2.1)
Windows 95 Version C (OSR2.5)
Windows 98 (memphis) about 5,000 bugs fixed
Windows 98 SE (Second Edition)
Windows Me (Millenium)
XENIX OS cooperation with SCO
XENIX 2.3 cooperation with SCO
XENIX 3.0 cooperation with SCO
MS OS/2 1.0 cooperation with IBM
OS/2 1.1 cooperation with IBM
OS/2 1.3 cooperation with IBM
OS/2 2.0 cooperation with IBM
Windows NT 3.1 & Advanced Server; 3.1 million lines of source code,
supports HPFS
Windows NT 3.5 (daytona), Workstation and Server, with opengl and
Netware client; 9 million lines of source code

Windows NT 3.51, updae, transparent compression with NTFS file

system, PCMCIA support, for Power-PCs available too
Windows NT 4.0 (cairo) 16 million lines of source code, no support
1996 Aug.
for HPFS anymore
1996
Windows NT Terminal Server Edition (hydra)
1997
Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition
1998
Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
Windows 2000, Windows version 5.0; 30 million lines of source code,
2000 Feb.
about 10,000 bugs fixed
2000 Sept. 2000 Datacenter Server
2001 Oct.
Windows XP (whistler), Windows version 5.1
2002
Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
2003 April Windows Server 2003 version 5.2 (whistler server)
2006
Windows Vista, Windows version 6.0, Codename Longhorn (Client)
2006 June Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (Windows CCS 2003)
2008 Feb. Windows Server 2008 (Codename Longhorn)
2007 July
Windows Home Server 1.0
2009 Oct.
Windows 7 (Codename Vienna)
2012 Oct. 26 Windows 8
2013 Oct. 18 Windows 8.1 (Codename Blue)
1995 May