Chapter 1 - Basics of the Command Line

Abstract

This chapter discusses the basics of the Windows command shell. Windows command shell is the most powerful administration tool that Microsoft has included with the operating system to date. The chapter also discusses different methods that can be used to access the command shell and illustrates several ways of configuring its properties to customize its look and functionality. The Windows command shell is actually an application built into the Windows operating system. CMD.exe is the command interpreter that accepts the commands and executes them. The default behavior of the CMD.exe interpreter can be customized using a number of available parameters or switches. The chapter also discusses the internal commands built into the command shell itself. Two types of commands can be executed from within the command shell. The first type is an internal command–these commands are built in the command shell itself and do not appear as executable files anywhere in the system. The second type of command executed from within the command shell is an external command. External commands are separate executable files located in the %SystemRoot\\System32 folder. The Windows command shell keeps a history of previously used commands in its command history buffer. Finally, the chapter discusses the installation of additional advanced sets of commands from the Windows Support Tools.