命令提示符(Command Prompt)或CMD是许多Windows用户的祸根。大多数人不了解它是什么，除非他们真的必须使用它，否则他们会尽量避免使用它。此外，大多数阅读我们关于数字公民(Digital Citizen)命令提示符(Command Prompt)教程的人要么是必须学习如何使用它进行 IT 考试的学生，要么是使用它进行工作的 IT 专业人员。如果您不是IT 极客(IT geek)，但您想知道命令提示符(Command Prompt)是什么、为什么有用以及是谁发明的，请阅读这篇文章：
什么是命令提示符？
命令提示符(Command Prompt)是Windows操作系统中的一个应用程序。用技术术语来说，命令提示符(Command Prompt)是一个命令行解释器(command-line interpreter)，它的目的是让你使用特殊的语法输入命令。发送到命令提示符(Command Prompt)的命令以文本行的形式输入，只要您在键盘上按Enter ，操作系统就会运行这些文本。(operating system)
与使用图形用户界面的常规应用程序不同，命令提示符(Command Prompt)本身没有可视界面。命令提示符(Command Prompt)仅使用从键盘输入的文本，而不是按钮、复选框、滑块、条形图、列表和其他此类图形元素。
CMD 是什么意思？
CMD是(CMD)command一词的缩写形式，也是要求Windows启动Command Prompt的简写方式。例如，在Windows 10中，您可以使用搜索或运行窗口(Run window)来查找cmd并运行命令提示符(Command Prompt)，而不是输入全名。
您可能还听说过CMD Prompt，但这只是Command Prompt的另一种说法。
为什么命令提示符有用？
尽管普通用户学习和使用命令提示符(Command Prompt)而不是具有图形用户界面的现代应用程序可能更难，但此工具在某些情况下可能很有用。
命令提示符(Command Prompt)有用的主要原因之一是它允许您一个接一个地运行多个命令，这意味着您可以使用它来自动执行任务。例如，通过创建一个简单的脚本，您可以制作一批在您选择的特定时间自动运行的命令（例如登录Windows时、关闭Windows时或仅当您双击该批次时）文件(batch file)）。
命令提示符(Command Prompt,)的另一个优点，尤其是与具有图形用户界面的应用程序相比，它为我们提供了与操作系统(operating system)的直接通信线路。换句话说，如果您知道正确的命令，那么使用命令提示符(Command Prompt)可以比使用常规应用程序执行更多操作。尽管对于大多数用户来说，使用鼠标在Windows上工作通常就足够了，但命令提示符可以让您对(Command Prompt)操作系统(operating system)进行更高级别的控制，让您可以访问其他方式无法使用的选项和工具。
您可以使用命令提示符执行的操作(Command Prompt)
您可以使用Windows的图形界面执行的许多操作都在(Windows)命令提示符(Command Prompt)中复制。这意味着您可以使用CMD执行所有常规操作，例如复制、重命名或删除文件和文件夹、浏览文件夹、运行应用程序、更改设置等。
但是，如果您仅使用Windows的常规界面，(Windows)命令提示符(Command Prompt)还为您提供了额外的功能。例如，命令提示符(Command Prompt)让您可以运行 ping、netstat 和 ipconfig 命令，这些命令可以告诉您很多关于网络状态(network status)的信息。您可以使用一些命令来管理正在运行的进程或使用系统驱动器(system drive)上的引导文件和配置数据，检查驱动器运行状况的命令，安装或卸载附加Windows功能的命令，甚至是命令可让您在Windows 注册表(Windows Registry)中添加和删除键。
该列表非常长，因此如果您想知道特定任务的特定命令是否存在，我们建议您查看Windows 命令的完整列表(full list of Windows Commands)。如果您想更详细地了解如何使用命令(Command)shell，您还可以在我们的指南中找到一些很好的帮助：命令提示符(Command Prompt)。
命令提示符(Command Prompt)是什么时候发明的，由谁发明的？
命令提示符的(Command Prompt's)历史始于MS-DOS，这是微软(Microsoft)在 1981年创建的操作系统(operating system)，距今已有近 40 年的历史。MS-DOS没有图形用户界面(user interface)，您可以在其中运行的大多数命令都相对简单。那时，命令提示符(Command Prompt)不存在，但它的祖先Command.com存在。Command.com是MS-DOS中可用的默认命令行解释器，也是该操作系统(operating system)中唯一可用的用户界面(user interface)。Command.com存在于以下几个Microsoft操作系统中，从Windows 95到Windows 98 SE 和 Windows ME(SE and Windows ME)。
后来，当微软(Microsoft)在 1993 年（27 年前）发布Windows NT时，我们今天所知道的命令提示符诞生了。(Command Prompt)命令提示符 (cmd.exe)(Command Prompt (cmd.exe))提供了与MS-DOS中(MS-DOS)Command.com中可用的旧命令的兼容性，使公司更容易适应和迁移到新操作系统(operating system)。尽管每个新版本都添加了新命令，但命令提示符(Command Prompt)多年来一直保持这种兼容性。以下操作系统 - Windows 2000、Windows XP、Windows Vista、Windows 7、Windows 8 和 Windows 10 - 仍然有命令提示符(Command Prompt)，并且一切仍然以几乎相同的方式工作。
命令提示符的未来是什么？
命令提示符(Command Prompt)有很长的使用寿命。几年前，当微软(Microsoft)决定从Windows 10中的(Windows 10)WinX 菜单(WinX menu)中替换命令提示符(Command Prompt)快捷方式时，出版物和用户担心命令提示符(Command Prompt)的寿命可能不会更长。然而，来自微软的(Microsoft)Rich Turner（高级程序经理(Program Manager)，Windows 控制台和命令行(Windows Console & Command-Line)）发表了一篇名为Rumors of Cmd's death 的帖子被大大夸大(Rumors of Cmd's death have been greatly exaggerated)了，他在其中告诉全世界"The Windows Cmd / Command-Line shell is不是being removed from Windows in the near or distant future!"。
你在使用命令提示符吗？
现在您对命令提示符(Command Prompt)、为什么有用以及可以用它做什么有了更多的了解。你也知道它来自哪里，它还有未来。问题是：你用过，还在用吗？如果你这样做，你使用命令提示符(Command Prompt)做什么？在下面发表评论，让我们谈谈。
What is the Command Prompt (CMD)?
The Command Prompt or CMD is the bane of many Windows users. Most people don't understand what it is, and, unless they really have to use it, they try to avoid it. Also, most of those who read our tutorials about the Command Prompt on Digital Citizen are either students that have to learn how to work with it for their IT exams, or IT professionals who use it for work. If you are not an IT geek, but you want to know what the Command Prompt is, why it is useful, and who invented it, read this article:
What is the Command Prompt?
The Command Prompt is an application found in Windows operating systems. In technical terms, the Command Prompt is a command-line interpreter, and its purpose is to let you enter commands using a special syntax. The commands sent to the Command Prompt are entered as lines of text, which are run by the operating system as soon as you press Enter on your keyboard.
Unlike regular apps that use graphical user interfaces, the Command Prompt doesn't have a visual interface per se. Instead of buttons, checkboxes, sliders, bars, lists, and other such graphical elements, the Command Prompt uses only the text entered from the keyboard.
What is the meaning of CMD?
CMD is an abbreviated form of the word command, and it's also the short way of asking Windows to launch the Command Prompt. For instance, in Windows 10, you can use the search or the Run window to look for cmd and run Command Prompt instead of typing the full name.
You might also hear about the CMD Prompt, but that's just another way of saying Command Prompt.
Why is the Command Prompt useful?
Although it's arguably harder for regular users to learn and use the Command Prompt instead of modern apps with graphical user interfaces, this tool can be useful in certain situations.
One of the main reasons why Command Prompt is useful is that it allows you to run multiple commands one after another, which means that you can use it to automate tasks. For example, by creating a simple script, you can make a batch of commands that are automatically run at the specific times you choose (like when you log into Windows, when you shut down Windows, or only when you double-click on the batch file).
Another strong point of Command Prompt, especially compared to apps with graphical user interfaces, is that it gives us a direct line of communication with the operating system. In other words, if you know the right commands, you can do more with Command Prompt than you can with a regular app. Although using your mouse to work with Windows is usually enough for most users, the Command Prompt gives you a higher level of control over the operating system, offering you access to options and tools that are not available otherwise.
Things you can do with Command Prompt
Many of the things you can do with the graphical interface from Windows are replicated in Command Prompt. That means that you can use CMD to do all the regular stuff like copying, renaming, or deleting files and folders, navigate through folders, run applications, change settings, and so on.
However, the Command Prompt also gives you additional powers that you can't get if you're using just the regular interface from Windows. For example, the Command Prompt lets you run ping, netstat, and ipconfig commands, which can tell you a lot about your network status. There are commands that you can use to manage running processes or work with the boot files and configuration data on your system drive, commands that let you check the health of your drives, commands that let you install or uninstall additional Windows features, and even commands that let you add and delete keys to or from the Windows Registry.
The list is extremely long, so if you want to know whether a specific command for a specific task exists, we advise you to look through the full list of Windows Commands. If you want to learn in more detail how to work with the Command shell, you can also find some good help in our guides: Command Prompt.
When was Command Prompt invented, and by whom?
Command Prompt's history starts with MS-DOS, an operating system that was created by Microsoft back in 1981, which is almost 40 years ago. MS-DOS didn't have a graphical user interface, and most commands that you could run in it were relatively simple. At that time, the Command Prompt didn't exist, but its ancestor Command.com did. Command.com was the default command-line interpreter available in MS-DOS, and it was also the only user interface available in that operating system. Command.com was present in a couple of the following Microsoft operating systems, from Windows 95 up to Windows 98 SE and Windows ME.
Later on, when Microsoft released Windows NT in 1993 (27 years ago), the Command Prompt as we know it today was born. Command Prompt (cmd.exe) offered compatibility with the old commands that were available in the Command.com from MS-DOS, to make it easier for companies to adapt and migrate to the new operating system. Although new commands were added with each new version, the Command Prompt kept that compatibility throughout the years. The following operating systems - Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 - still have the Command Prompt and everything still works pretty much the same way.
What is Command Prompt's future?
The Command Prompt has had a long and useful life. A few years ago, when Microsoft decided to replace the Command Prompt shortcuts from the WinX menu in Windows 10, publications and users were concerned that the Command Prompt might not live much longer. However, Rich Turner (Sr. Program Manager, Windows Console & Command-Line) from Microsoft published a post called Rumors of Cmd's death have been greatly exaggerated, in which he told the entire world that "The Windows Cmd / Command-Line shell is NOT being removed from Windows in the near or distant future!".
Are you using Command Prompt?
Now you know more about the Command Prompt, why it is useful, and what you can do with it. You also know where it came from and that it still has a future. The question is: have you used and are you still using it? If you do, what are you using Command Prompt for? Leave a comment below and let's talk.
