On 8/13/21, Ciarán Ó Duibhín via Python-list <python-list@python.org> wrote: > > But when I type "python" at the DOS prompt, I get "Python 3.8.10". I > don't understand this, as I uninstalled old versions, and I do not see a > DOS environment variable called "python" anywhere.
The app distribution is probably installed. You can uninstall it in the "Apps" view of the settings apps. The app should be named "Python 3.8" from "Python Software Foundation". Alternatively, if you want to keep the app distribution, you can simply remove interfering aliases. Towards the top, there's a link to set "App execution aliases". You can disable all of the Python-related aliases, or keep specific aliases such as "python3.8.exe", "pythonw3.8.exe", "pip3.8.exe", and "idle3.8.exe". --- FYI, back in the 1990s, when users opened a "DOS Box" in Windows 9x, it was literally the 16-bit DOS kernel and "COMMAND.COM" shell executing in a virtual DOS machine (VDM) using the CPU's virtual-86 mode. Various software interrupts were hooked to integrate with the virtual machine manager (the 32-bit OS at the core of Windows 9x) and connect the UI to a desktop window. The term "DOS Box" made perfect sense back then. In modern Windows systems, which are based on NT instead of DOS, the classic command-line shell is called the "Command Prompt" or "CMD". The CMD shell (cmd.exe) is a Windows console application. It supports the batch language and a superset of the commands from the "COMMAND.COM" DOS shell. Compatibility with the DOS shell was crucial when CMD was designed for OS/2 in 1986 and subsequently ported to Windows in 1993. But it's only high-level and superficial compatibility. CMD directly consumes the Windows API. It is not a DOS application executing in a VDM. 64-bit Windows systems don't even include VDM support. -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
