Developer(s) | Intel, IBM, Microsoft, DR, Datalight, Novell, Phil Brutsche, ReactOS Contributors |
---|---|
Initial release | 1984, 39–40 years ago (DOS version) |
Operating system | ISIS-II, PC DOS, MS-DOS, MSX-DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Windows, DR DOS, ROM-DOS, FreeDOS, ReactOS, SymbOS |
Platform | Cross-platform |
Type | Command |
License | FreeDOS, ReactOS: GPLv2 |
In
computing, ATTRIB
is a
command in
Intel
ISIS-II,
[1]
DOS,
IBM
OS/2,
[2]
Microsoft
Windows
[3] and
ReactOS
[4] that allows the user to change various characteristics, or "
attributes" of a
computer file or
directory. The command is also available in the
EFI shell.
[5]
Several
operating systems provided a set of modifiable file characteristics that could be accessed and changed through a low-level
system call. For example, as of release
MS-DOS 4.0, the first six
bits of the file attribute
byte indicated whether or not a file was read-only (as opposed to writeable), hidden, a system file, a volume label, a subdirectory, or if the file had been "archived" (with the bit being set if the file had changed since the last use of the
BACKUP
command).
[6] However, initial releases of the operating system did not provide user-level method for reading or changing these values.
[7]
The initial version of the ATTRIB
command for DOS was first included in version 3.0 of
PC DOS, with functionality limited to changing the read-only attribute.
[7] Subsequent versions allowed the read-only, hidden, system and archive bits to be set.
[8]
MS-DOS version 3.3 added the capability of recursive searching through subdirectories to display attributes of specified files.
[9]
Digital Research
DR DOS 6.0
[10] and
Datalight
ROM-DOS
[11] also include an implementation of the ATTRIB
command.
The FreeDOS version was developed by Phil Brutsche and is licensed under the GPLv2. [12]
Setting the read-only bit of a file provided only partial protection against inadvertent deletion: while commands such as
del
and
erase
would respect the attribute, other commands such as
DELTREE
did not.
[13] Changing the system attribute was not possible in early versions of Windows, thus requiring use of ATTRIB
.
[13] Similarly, a system crash in early versions of Windows could lead to a situation where a temporary file had the read-only bit set and was additionally (and irrevocably) locked by the Windows OS; in this instance, booting into DOS (thus avoiding the Windows lock) and unsetting the read-only attribute with ATTRIB
was the recommended way of deleting the file.
[14] Manipulating the archive bit allowed users to control which files were backed up using the BACKUP
command.
[7]
chattr
, the equivalent on Unix and Linux
cacls
, the Windows NT
access control list (ACL) utilityDeveloper(s) | Intel, IBM, Microsoft, DR, Datalight, Novell, Phil Brutsche, ReactOS Contributors |
---|---|
Initial release | 1984, 39–40 years ago (DOS version) |
Operating system | ISIS-II, PC DOS, MS-DOS, MSX-DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Windows, DR DOS, ROM-DOS, FreeDOS, ReactOS, SymbOS |
Platform | Cross-platform |
Type | Command |
License | FreeDOS, ReactOS: GPLv2 |
In
computing, ATTRIB
is a
command in
Intel
ISIS-II,
[1]
DOS,
IBM
OS/2,
[2]
Microsoft
Windows
[3] and
ReactOS
[4] that allows the user to change various characteristics, or "
attributes" of a
computer file or
directory. The command is also available in the
EFI shell.
[5]
Several
operating systems provided a set of modifiable file characteristics that could be accessed and changed through a low-level
system call. For example, as of release
MS-DOS 4.0, the first six
bits of the file attribute
byte indicated whether or not a file was read-only (as opposed to writeable), hidden, a system file, a volume label, a subdirectory, or if the file had been "archived" (with the bit being set if the file had changed since the last use of the
BACKUP
command).
[6] However, initial releases of the operating system did not provide user-level method for reading or changing these values.
[7]
The initial version of the ATTRIB
command for DOS was first included in version 3.0 of
PC DOS, with functionality limited to changing the read-only attribute.
[7] Subsequent versions allowed the read-only, hidden, system and archive bits to be set.
[8]
MS-DOS version 3.3 added the capability of recursive searching through subdirectories to display attributes of specified files.
[9]
Digital Research
DR DOS 6.0
[10] and
Datalight
ROM-DOS
[11] also include an implementation of the ATTRIB
command.
The FreeDOS version was developed by Phil Brutsche and is licensed under the GPLv2. [12]
Setting the read-only bit of a file provided only partial protection against inadvertent deletion: while commands such as
del
and
erase
would respect the attribute, other commands such as
DELTREE
did not.
[13] Changing the system attribute was not possible in early versions of Windows, thus requiring use of ATTRIB
.
[13] Similarly, a system crash in early versions of Windows could lead to a situation where a temporary file had the read-only bit set and was additionally (and irrevocably) locked by the Windows OS; in this instance, booting into DOS (thus avoiding the Windows lock) and unsetting the read-only attribute with ATTRIB
was the recommended way of deleting the file.
[14] Manipulating the archive bit allowed users to control which files were backed up using the BACKUP
command.
[7]
chattr
, the equivalent on Unix and Linux
cacls
, the Windows NT
access control list (ACL) utility