Altair DOS
E772224
Altair DOS is an early disk-based operating system developed for the MITS Altair 8800 microcomputer, providing basic file management and program loading capabilities.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Altair DOS canonical | 1 |
| Stand-alone Disk BASIC | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T8570764 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Altair DOS Context triple: [MITS Altair 8800, operatingSystem, Altair DOS]
-
A.
MS-DOS Executive
MS-DOS Executive is the simple file management and program-launching shell that served as the primary user interface in early versions of Microsoft Windows, notably Windows 1.0.
-
B.
DR-DOS
DR-DOS is a DOS-compatible operating system developed by Digital Research as an alternative to MS-DOS, known for its advanced memory management and multitasking features for IBM PC-compatible computers.
-
C.
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is a command-line operating system that became the foundational software platform for early IBM-compatible personal computers in the 1980s and early 1990s.
-
D.
ProDOS
ProDOS is a disk operating system developed by Apple for its Apple II series of computers, providing improved file management and hardware support over its predecessors.
-
E.
CP/M-86
CP/M-86 is a 16-bit version of the CP/M operating system designed for Intel 8086/8088-based computers, serving as an early alternative to MS-DOS on machines like the IBM PC.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Altair DOS Target entity description: Altair DOS is an early disk-based operating system developed for the MITS Altair 8800 microcomputer, providing basic file management and program loading capabilities.
-
A.
MS-DOS Executive
MS-DOS Executive is the simple file management and program-launching shell that served as the primary user interface in early versions of Microsoft Windows, notably Windows 1.0.
-
B.
DR-DOS
DR-DOS is a DOS-compatible operating system developed by Digital Research as an alternative to MS-DOS, known for its advanced memory management and multitasking features for IBM PC-compatible computers.
-
C.
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is a command-line operating system that became the foundational software platform for early IBM-compatible personal computers in the 1980s and early 1990s.
-
D.
ProDOS
ProDOS is a disk operating system developed by Apple for its Apple II series of computers, providing improved file management and hardware support over its predecessors.
-
E.
CP/M-86
CP/M-86 is a 16-bit version of the CP/M operating system designed for Intel 8086/8088-based computers, serving as an early alternative to MS-DOS on machines like the IBM PC.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Altair 8800 software
ⓘ
disk operating system ⓘ microcomputer operating system ⓘ |
| architecture | 8-bit ⓘ |
| bootMethod | disk boot loader in ROM or paper tape ⓘ |
| category |
Altair 8800 software
ⓘ
historical operating systems ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States
ⓘ
linked to:
United States of America
|
| developer |
MITS
ⓘ
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems ⓘ |
| distributionMethod | sold as an add-on for Altair 8800 ⓘ |
| feature |
basic file management
ⓘ
boot from disk ⓘ command-line interface ⓘ disk directory listing ⓘ disk-based file system ⓘ file copy command ⓘ file delete command ⓘ file rename command ⓘ program execution from disk ⓘ program loading ⓘ support for binary program files ⓘ support for sequential file access ⓘ |
| fileSystemType | proprietary Altair disk format ⓘ |
| followedBy | CP/M on Altair-class systems ⓘ |
| genre | early microcomputer operating system ⓘ |
| hardwareRequirements | Altair 8800 with disk controller ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod | mid-1970s microcomputer era ⓘ |
| language | Intel 8080 assembly language ⓘ |
| licensing | proprietary ⓘ |
| manufacturer | MITS ⓘ |
| notableFor | being one of the first disk operating systems for microcomputers ⓘ |
| operatingSystemFor |
Altair 8800
ⓘ
linked to:
MITS Altair 8800
|
| platform |
Altair 8800 S-100 bus systems
ⓘ
linked to:
MITS Altair 8800
Intel 8080 ⓘ |
| precededBy | paper tape based program loading on Altair 8800 ⓘ |
| purpose |
to provide disk-based storage for Altair 8800 users
ⓘ
to simplify loading and managing programs ⓘ |
| runsOn | S-100 bus compatible hardware ⓘ |
| softwareEnvironment |
8080 machine code programs
ⓘ
Altair BASIC programs ⓘ |
| status | historical software ⓘ |
| storageMedium | floppy disk ⓘ |
| targetUser |
early microcomputer developers
ⓘ
hobbyist computer users ⓘ |
| usedWith |
Altair 8-inch floppy disk subsystem
ⓘ
S-100 bus disk controllers ⓘ |
| userInterface | text-based ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Altair DOS Description of subject: Altair DOS is an early disk-based operating system developed for the MITS Altair 8800 microcomputer, providing basic file management and program loading capabilities.
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
linked to: Altair DOS