Windows Operating System

This page is an introduction to the Windows Operating System and the skills that you will need to use it for programming. Other Microsoft operating systems (Windows NT, XP, 95/98, Millenium, etc.) operate similarly. At the beginning of the course, when we are just starting to learn programming, practice these skills repeatedly, until they become intuitive. Because there are just a few skills, and because you will use these same skills over and over again while taking this course, you will soon master them.

The Windows 2000/NT Operating System

Windows 2000 is built on the older, more well known Windows NT Operating system (OS). Both are a 32 bit, multitasking OS. Version 1.0 of Windows NT was released in 1994. Its initial size was 6 millions lines of code, which cost Microsoft $150 million. Windows 2000 (the successor to Windows NT) is estimated to contains 50 million lines of code.

Windows Terminology

Here are a few important terms that you must know to be able to understand the rest of the information on this page.

Desktop
The entire screen, which contains the Task Bar, Icons, and Windows.
Task Bar
The horizontal bar that appears at the bottom of the Destktop. It always contains the Start Button and buttons for any minimized applications.
Start Button
The button that appears on the left of the Task Bar.

Icons
Pictures with names underneath: e.g., My Computer which is typically in the upper left hand corner of the Screen. Icons represent applications (that you can run) files (data for applications that you can run) or Folders (repositories for files that you can examine) by Double Clicking.

Clicking

left

Left Clicking

Right Clicking
Pressing and quickly releasing the right mouse button.

Double Clicking
Clicking twice, in rapid succession. Typically refers to the left button. This takes a bit of practice for beginners.

Dragging
Pressing the mouse button and moving the mouse while the button is pressed.

Folders
Manila folder Icons. Folders organize data: applicatons, files and [sub]folders. Double Clicking a folder shows its contents (the applications, files, and subfolders that it contains).

Window
A Window shows a running application and the data it is working on. Double Clicking an application or a file (connected to an application) starts the application (working on the data in the file), creating a window.

Window Control
A control on the top right part of a Window that affects its size.

_ Minimize: Show window only on the Task Bar
[_] Maximize/Mimimize: Window fills Desktop or restores to previous size
X (Terminate): discard the window

If a window is minimized, click it on the task bar and it will open and move to the desktop. When a window on the desktop is maximized, it fills the entire screen; when such a screen-filling window is midimized, it returns to its original desktop size.
If a window is minimized, click it on the Dock and it will open and move to the Desktop. When a window on the Desktop is maximized, it fills the entire screen; when such a screen-filling window is midimized, it returns to its original Desktop size.

Explorer
A application running in a Window that is used to explore/manipulate files and folders. The easiest way to start an Explorer is by Right Clicking the Start button and then Clicking Explore.

Context Menu
Right Clicking on Windows, buttons, or Icons brings up a small window containing a list of operations; the user can select which operation (from the list) to perform by clicking it.

Miscellaneous Operations

Renaming Folders and Files

To rename a folder or file (if it is a file with an extension, the extension should remain the same: you will be warned if you accidentally change it);

Right Click the folder or file.

In its context menu, click the Rename option.

Type the new name (and the same extension) in the highlighted blue box.

The folder or file should now have the name that you typed.

Enabling Scrolling in the Java Console Window

Java programs often input/output text in the console window. If scrolling is enabled on these windows, you can look at all the text printed. On some Windows operating systems (e.g., Windows 2000), this is the default (300 lines); on others (e.g., Windows NT) you must follow the instructions below. To allow [more] scrolling in this window, so that you can see a [longer] history of all your program's input/output, perform the following steps (you may have to perform these steps each time that you log on):

Right Click in the header (on the top of the frame) of the Console Window.

Click Properties.

Select the Layout tab.

In the Screen Buffer Size section, type 1000 (or an even bigger number) into the Height text field.

Click OK.

On the Apply Properties window, check the bullet marked Save properties for future windows with same title.

Click OK.

The console window should now be scrollable (you should see the scrolling tab along the right border of the window)

Viewing File Extensions

File extensions are the the part of the file name after the period (e.g., the mcp in project.mcp or the java in Application.java). It is often very useful to be able to see both file names and extensions. On some Windows operating systems (e.g., 2000), this is the default; on others (e.g., NT) you must follow the instructions below.

Open an Exlorer window.

Select View | Options...

Click the View tab, if it is not already visible.

Ensure the box labeled Hide file extensions for known types is NOT checked (click it if it is checked to toggle it to unchecked).

Click OK

You should now be able to see the extensions of all files.

Using Windows Machines in Campus Clusters

Logging On

The following instructions are for logging onto any machine running Windows 2000 in CMU's Clusters; these include WeH 5204 (40 machines), WeH 5205 (12 machines), Cyert 100 (25 machines), and Baker 140 CEF (70 machines). You can do coursework from machines in any of these clusters.

Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys and press the Del key (often written Ctrl+Alt+Delete); a Log on to Windows box will pop up.
In the User Name box, enter your Andrew username.
In the Password box, enter your Andrew password (it will appear a *s).
Ensure the Log on to option box says ANDREW.CMU.EDU (Kerberos Realm); if it is showing anything else, select this option from this option box.
Click the icon labelled Log In or press the Enter/Return key.

Logging Off

When you are finished working on a cluster machine, you should always log off. Before logging off, make sure to backup (via Andrew) all your files that contain useful information. Then ...

Drag and Drop all your folders/files from the desktop into the Recycle Bin icon.
Drag and Drop all your folders/files from c:\temp into the Recycle Bin icon.
Double Click the Recycle Bin icon.
Select File | Empty Recycle Bin.
Click Yes for Confirm multiple File Delete.

To actually log off

Click Start and select Shutdown....
The What do you want the computer to do text field should show Log off username (where username is your username on Andrew); if this action is not selected, select it.
Click OK or press Enter/Return.

At this point the machine will begin logging you off. To ensure that this operation is successful, you should wait until the Welcome to Windows box displayed.