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Windows 3.11

Windows 3.0 came onto the market in May 1990. It is a 16-bit operating system that needs for funciton a preinstalled DOS like MS DOS and supports now the computer mouse as an input device. Unlike DOS the user could apparently work with several applications in the cooperative multitasking proceedings at the same time now. It has a GDI (Graphics Display Interface), an API (Application Program Interface) for programmer and supports DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) as well as OLE (Object Linking and Embedding). Next after Windows 3.10 was the last version published with Windows 3.11 for Workgroups (WfW). WfW extended Windows by network abilities for use as a client in an network. WFW could combine and show up to 25 computers in a working group. The Windows 3.x programs are compatible to each other Windows 3.x version. DOS drivers remains resistant after the Windows start. The system can be specified over the following configuration files: WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI and PROGMAN.INI, the Registry has no great importance and only a minor meaning.

With the extension Win32s published later, also few 32-bit applications designed for Windows 95 could be executed now, last version of Win32s was 1.30c of February 1996. With "Video for Windows" (VfW) the multimedia ability got updated. The minimum hardware requirements for use of Windows 3.x are 2 mbyte RAM and 15 mbyte free harddisk storage.

Area of application
- private users
- Office use
- network client

Structure information
- cooperative multitasking
- 32-bit adressing in protected mode (with 386 CPU or better)
- 16-bit operating system
- File size up to 2 gbyte
- File system is FAT16

Features
- high compatibility to DOS
- low ressource requiered
- difficult network configuration
- limited security