Command Prompt

A command prompt is used in a text-based or "command-line" interface, such as a Unix terminal or a DOS shell. It is a symbol or series of characters at the beginning of a line that indicates the system is ready to receive input. It other words, it prompts the user for a command (hence the name). A user can type commands at the command prompt, such as cd /, which means "change directory to the root folder." The "cd" command allows the user to browse through different directories of files on a hard disk or network. There are dozens of other commands that a user can type, which can be used to list, move, delete, and copy files, run programs, or perform other operations. While the "cd" command is the same in both DOS and Unix, many other commands have different syntax.