Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

text-based
     
         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}.
     
        (1995-03-16)