PRINT (command)
| Company type | Software command |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computing / Operating systems |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Products | Print spooling utility |
In the realm of computing, the print command delivers single-user print spooling functionality compatible with multiple operating systems. Its operation is comparable to the spooler systems found in UNIX System V's lp and the BSD lpr utilities.
Implementations
This command has been incorporated into a variety of DEC operating systems, such as RT-11, OS/8, RSX-11, TOPS-10, and TOPS-20. It is also implemented in DR products including FlexOS, DR DOS, as well as in TSL’s PC-MOS/386, Paragon Technology’s PTS-DOS, and SISNE plus. Prominent platforms like IBM’s OS/2, along with its derivatives eComStation and ArcaOS, in addition to Microsoft Windows and FreeDOS, feature this command. Further availability extends to systems such as Stratus Technologies' OpenVOS, the AROS, Hewlett-Packard’s MPE/iX, and OpenVMS.
The FreeDOS variant, authored by James Tabor, is distributed under the terms of the GPL.
Background
The print command made its debut with version 2.0 of both MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS. An equivalent implementation is included in DR DOS 6.0 as well.
Prior to this, printing operations in early DOS releases were handled by the copy command, which transferred files directly to the print device and only returned control once printing had finished. The introduction of the print command in DOS 2.0 brought fundamental print spooling capabilities, enabling users to continue other tasks while documents printed asynchronously and allowing multiple print jobs to be queued.
Description
Supporting a range of local printer connections, the print command could also manage network printers through integration with the net command. It provided options for setting maximum concurrent files, buffer sizes, and queue controls. Additionally, users could configure page margins, length, number of copies, and adjust parameters to optimize between printing performance and overall system responsiveness.
Retrospect
Early adopters reported issues such as slow printing speeds, significant consumption of system resources, and no capability to handle subdirectory structures. As one of the pioneering RAM-resident utilities widely used at the time, it served as a model for developers aiming to create similar background processing tools.
Further reading
- Jim Cooper, Special Edition Using MS-DOS 6.22, Third Edition, Que Publishing, 2001, ISBN 978-0789725738
- Kathy Ivens & Brian Proffit, OS/2 Inside & Out, Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1993, ISBN 978-0078818714
- John Paul Mueller, Windows Administration at the Command Line for Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000, John Wiley & Sons, 2007, ISBN 978-0470165799