StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Writing them into an operating systems essay and this is all I can think of so far:

Autoexec is what’s called a batch file, a file that runs other files & programs as part of it’s programming. It’s this running of a “batch” of otherwise not connected programs, that makes them so useful. Autoexec.bat is automatically executed by the computer every time you turn it on.
Config.sys is a system file that configures the various programs run by the autoexec.bat. Essentially it tells them how to interact with the hardware .

But I should probably expand upon that. Thoughts on how?

Config.sys used to run before autoexec.bat. It would load things like drivers into memory, but not directly execute any programs.

Yeah the part about CONFIG configuring the stuff from AUTOEXEC isn't true.
It defines things like settings (where to load high memory, last drive letter, number of buffers/open files) for the OS itself, AND it can load programs itself - usually drivers, like your CDrom, memory manager, etc.

Config is used for system critical stuff, autoexec is just a way to save time without having to type "doskey", "keyb xx", "mouse", "mscdex.exe" every time you reboot.

Well thank fuck I didn't hand that in. Thanks.

You could be more specific on batch files, as well.

Batch files basically consist of series of commands (a "batch") that could be typed on the command line manually and have the same effect. For things that have to be done often (such as to set up the environment before running certain applications), it's nice to have everything automated (and maybe even run the application automatically as the last command in the batch).

Since some settings have to be used each time the computer boots up, having a batch file run those commands automatically is very nice, hence the name autoexec.bat.