Expert: vijayan - 3/9/2010

Question
Hi. I have an assignment that I need to do, but I forgot a lot of what I knew about C++. I need to develop a SHELL. I have three short questions. My questions are:

#1. What exactly is a shell?

#2. In Microsoft Visual Studio, when I go to New/Project, Which template should I choose to use to develop my SHELL?

#3. How do I output my SHELL into a .cpp file?

Answer
> What exactly is a shell?

The term shell originated in the UNIX environment. A shell is a program that provides an interface for users (typically via commands typed on the terminal) to services provided by an operating system - for example copying a file or listing currently running processes. The name shell originates from shells being an outer layer between the user and the innards of the operating system (which is called the kernel).

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_shell

> In Microsoft Visual Studio, when I go to New/Project, Which template should I choose to use to develop my SHELL?

Most simple shell are command interpreters; they read and process commands typed in via the keyboard and give their output in text mode on the console. So you should be using a 'Win32 Console Application'

> How do I output my SHELL into a .cpp file?

I do not understand the question.