COM file  A COM file is a type of simple executable file. On the Digital Equipment operating systems of the 1970s, codice_1 was used as a filename extension for text files containing commands to be issued to the operating system (similar to a batch file). With the introduction of CP/M (a microcomputer operating system), the type of files commonly associated with COM extension changed to that of executable files. This convention was later carried over to DOS. Even when complemented by the more general EXE file format for executables, the compact COM files remained viable and frequently used under DOS. The codice_1 file name extension has no relation to the .com (for "commercial") top-level Internet domain name. However, this similarity in name has been exploited by malicious computer virus writers. The COM format is the original binary executable format used in CP/M (including SCP and MSX-DOS) as well as DOS. It is very simple; it has no header (with the exception of CP/M 3 files), and contains no standard metadata, only code and data. This simplicity exacts a price: the binary has a maximum size of 65,280 (FF00h) bytes (256 bytes short of 64 KB) and stores all its code and data in one segment. Since it lacks relocation information, it is loaded by the operating system at a pre-set address, at offset 0100h immediately following the PSP, where it is executed (hence the limitation of the executable's size): the entry point is fixed at 0100h. This was not an issue on 8-bit machines since they can address 64k of memory max, but 16-bit machines have a much larger address space, which is why the format fell out of use. In the Intel 8080 CPU architecture, only 65,536 bytes of memory could be addressed (address range 0000h to FFFFh). Under CP/M, the first 256 bytes of this memory, from 0000h to 00FFh were reserved for system use by the zero page, and any user program had to be loaded at exactly 0100h to be executed. COM files fit this model perfectly. Before the introduction of MP/M and Concurrent CP/M, there was no possibility of running more than one program or command at a time: the program loaded at 0100h was run, and no other. Although the file format is the same in DOS and CP/M, .COM files for the two operating systems are not compatible; DOS COM files contain x86 instructions and possibly DOS system calls, while CP/M COM files contain 8080 instructions and CP/M system calls (programs restricted to certain machines could also contain additional instructions for 8085 or Z80).  .