text-based (jargon) Working under a non-window-based operating system (e.g. MS-DOS) as opposed to a graphical user interface (e.g. Microsoft Windows).
An MS-DOS text-based program uses a screen with a fixed array of 80x25 or 80x40 characters. Examples are WordPerfect before version 5.1 and Microsoft Word. Last updated: 1995-03-16