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Edlin

line-oriented text editor that was the only text editor provided with early versions of IBM PC DOS and MS-DOS

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 12, 2026
Entity authorityQ648402 ↗
Source-derived summary

Edlin is a line editor, and the only text editor provided with early versions of IBM PC DOS, MS-DOS and OS/2. Although superseded in MS-DOS 5.0 and later by the full-screen MS-DOS Editor, and by Notepad in Microsoft Windows, it continued to be included in the 32-bit versions of Microsoft operating systems up to Windows Server 2008 and Windows 10.

History

Edlin was created by Tim Paterson in two weeks in 1980, for Seattle Computer Products's 86-DOS (QDOS) based on the CP/M context editor ED, itself distantly inspired by the DEC PDP-10 TOPS-10 EDIT text editor.

Microsoft acquired 86-DOS and, after some further development, sold it as MS-DOS, so Edlin was included in v1.0–v6.22 of MS-DOS. From MS-DOS 6 onwards, the main editor included was the new full-screen MS-DOS Editor. On some distributions of 6.22, EDLIN was found on the supplementary tools disk instead of being installed by default.

Windows 95, 98 and ME ran on top of an embedded version of DOS, which reports itself as MS-DOS 7.

Edlin is included in the 32-bit versions of Windows NT and its derivatives—up to and including Windows 10—because the NTVDM's DOS support in those operating systems is based on MS-DOS version 5.0. However, unlike most other external DOS commands, it has not been transformed into a native Win32 program. It also does not support long filenames, which were not added to MS-DOS and Windows until long after Edlin was written.

The FreeDOS version was developed by Gregory Pietsch.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Edlin” as line-oriented text editor that was the only text editor provided with early versions of IBM PC DOS and MS-DOS. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2008, 1980—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1980. The account is most persuasive where Edlin, line-oriented and text can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as line-oriented text editor that was the only text editor provided with early versions of IBM PC DOS and MS-DOS. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q648402. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2008 and 1980.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Edlin”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Edlin primary sources, Edlin archive and Edlin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Edlin”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Edlin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.