• Difference between Command.com, Terminal, cmd.exe and Powershell

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    #2652770

    I’m not clear on why there are three separate ways to access what seems to be the command line.

    I get, kinda, that Powershell brings additional commands, but past that, I am a bit lost.

    Especially between Terminal and command.com and cmd.exe.

    Can somebody point me in the right direction, please?

    Chuck Billow

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    • #2652778

      I found/got it.  Thanks though.

      Chuck Billow

    • #2652781

      OK, I’m back.  I get command.com and cnd.exe.  I even get cmd.exe and Powershell.

      BUT…

      Google tells me that they are NOT he same (https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-terminal-vs-powershell/#:~:text=PowerShellhelpsbringthepower,Unicode/UTFsupportthanPowerShell.), but if I try to install or open Terminal, Windows gives me Powershell.

      So here I am, confused again…

      [Moderator edit] Please do not use short URLs. Allow us to see the entire URL and decide if we want to click it.
      Changed URL to original

      Chuck Billow

    • #2652802

      These give pretty good descriptions –

      What shells does Windows Terminal support?

      What is the difference between a shell and a terminal?

      Terminal vs PowerShell vs Command Prompt difference explained

      Personally, I use Terminal now for just about everything…including PowerShell, Command line, and Windows Subsystem for Linux.

      You can change the default profile and the default Terminal application in Settings > Startup.

      3 users thanked author for this post.
    • #2652859

      OK ONG, thanks much for that eye-opener.  I still do not understand how/why if I try to get into Terminal, what I get is Powershell.  And that is right within the MS Store.  It SAYS it is loading Terminal, But what the resulting window says is “Powershell”.

      SO as a rresult I am still a bit in the dark.

       

      Chuck Billow

    • #2652887

      It SAYS it is loading Terminal, But what the resulting window says is “Powershell”. SO as a rresult I am still a bit in the dark.

      If you’re getting something like this:

      Terminal

      Click on Open Settings, and you’ll get options.  I use Command Prompt, it does everything I want to do in commandline, which isn’t much.  I don’t need tabs.

      Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!
      We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.
      We were all once "Average Users".

    • #2653231

      command.com is there for backwards compatibility with very old MS-DOS batch scripts. cmd.exe is the Windows NT version which was extended with extra functionality over that of command.com. PowerShell is completely different, although it does accept some of the older commands as aliases.

      Terminal is just a frontend for the various shells, it lets you run multiple shells of any type in the same window.

      1 user thanked author for this post.
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