Dos Navigator
Encyclopedia
Dos Navigator is a free
orthodox file manager for DOS
and Windows.
(VFS): Xtree, Briefcase and List-based, DN opened a new generation of OFMs. Also unlimited number of panels and a lot of new important features make it one of the most powerful (and complex) OFMs.
, Moldova
). After that, DN was rewritten using Turbo Vision
by Stefan Tanurkov and Dmitry Dotsenko (Dmitry developed DN at Moscow State University
). These versions are sometimes referred as DN II.
In 1993, Slava Filimonov invited Stefan to join RitLabs (formerly RIT S.R.L) in order to continue producing and publishing DN with joint efforts. Slava also contributed programming new components, design and made countless optimizations and improvements. He wrote a new software key protection system which remained unbreakable for almost four years after its introduction.
DN II was actively developed until the beginning of 1995 (until version 1.35 which should be considered as a milestone in the OFM implementations). Several other programmers participated in the development after version 1.35. Starting from version 1.37, Slava Filimonov and Ilya Bagdasarov were in charge of bug-fixing. Slava and Ilya Bagdasarov solely maintained, developed and released versions 1.37 through 1.39. After they left, DN was maintained again by Stefan and newly acquired developer - Maxim Masiutin.
In 1998, the development mostly took a bug-fixing direction as RITlabs' new product The Bat!
became a more promising software product with much better commercial potential.
The latest shareware version was 1.50. Then, in late 1999, RitLabs decided to make version 1.51 of the Dos Navigator completely free with freely available source code.
.
Stefan Tanurkov and Maxim Masiutin are still employed at RitLabs, developing The Bat!
Sergey Melnik joined Microsoft Research, Redmond.
In 1998, Slava Filimonov wrote another file manager windows for MRP Informatics, a company in Czech Republic
. This project is discontinued now.
Other groups still release software based on the DN open source code, including new features such as support for long file names
, and support for Linux
.
DN 1.51 650KB Win32 OS/2 - Sources (Virtual Pascal) (972,655)
DOS Navigator Open Source Project
DN OSP 6.4.0 1MB DOS/DPMI(Win9x)
DN 4.9.0 2004 for DOS included in UBCD v3.4.
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
orthodox file manager for DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and Windows.
Influence of Dos Navigator
Dos Navigator is an influential early implementation of Orthodox File Manager (OFM). By implementing three additional types of Virtual file systemVirtual file system
A virtual file system or virtual filesystem switch is an abstraction layer on top of a more concrete file system. The purpose of a VFS is to allow client applications to access different types of concrete file systems in a uniform way...
(VFS): Xtree, Briefcase and List-based, DN opened a new generation of OFMs. Also unlimited number of panels and a lot of new important features make it one of the most powerful (and complex) OFMs.
History
The initial version of DN I (v 0.90) was released in 1991, and written by Stefan Tanurkov, Andrew Zabolotny and Sergey Melnik (all from ChişinăuChisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
). After that, DN was rewritten using Turbo Vision
Turbo Vision
Turbo Vision is a DOS-based character-mode text user interface framework developed around 1992 by Borland for Pascal, and C++. Later it was deprecated in favor of Object Windows Library for the then-increasingly important Win16 API....
by Stefan Tanurkov and Dmitry Dotsenko (Dmitry developed DN at Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
). These versions are sometimes referred as DN II.
In 1993, Slava Filimonov invited Stefan to join RitLabs (formerly RIT S.R.L) in order to continue producing and publishing DN with joint efforts. Slava also contributed programming new components, design and made countless optimizations and improvements. He wrote a new software key protection system which remained unbreakable for almost four years after its introduction.
DN II was actively developed until the beginning of 1995 (until version 1.35 which should be considered as a milestone in the OFM implementations). Several other programmers participated in the development after version 1.35. Starting from version 1.37, Slava Filimonov and Ilya Bagdasarov were in charge of bug-fixing. Slava and Ilya Bagdasarov solely maintained, developed and released versions 1.37 through 1.39. After they left, DN was maintained again by Stefan and newly acquired developer - Maxim Masiutin.
In 1998, the development mostly took a bug-fixing direction as RITlabs' new product The Bat!
The Bat!
The Bat! is a shareware e-mail client for the Microsoft Windows operating system, developed by RITLabs, a company based in Chişinău, Moldova.-History:...
became a more promising software product with much better commercial potential.
The latest shareware version was 1.50. Then, in late 1999, RitLabs decided to make version 1.51 of the Dos Navigator completely free with freely available source code.
Life after Dos Navigator
Andrew Zabolotny currently works for a company in Russia. He also contributed to several open source projects, including Crystal SpaceCrystal Space
Crystal Space is a framework for developing 3D applications written in C++ by Jorrit Tyberghein and others. The first public release was on August 26, 1997. It is typically used as a game engine but the framework is more general and can be used for any kind of 3D visualization. It is very...
.
Stefan Tanurkov and Maxim Masiutin are still employed at RitLabs, developing The Bat!
The Bat!
The Bat! is a shareware e-mail client for the Microsoft Windows operating system, developed by RITLabs, a company based in Chişinău, Moldova.-History:...
Sergey Melnik joined Microsoft Research, Redmond.
In 1998, Slava Filimonov wrote another file manager windows for MRP Informatics, a company in Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. This project is discontinued now.
Other groups still release software based on the DN open source code, including new features such as support for long file names
Filename
The filename is metadata about a file; a string used to uniquely identify a file stored on the file system. Different file systems impose different restrictions on length and allowed characters on filenames.A filename includes one or more of these components:...
, and support for Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
.
DN 1.51 650KB Win32 OS/2 - Sources (Virtual Pascal) (972,655)
DOS Navigator Open Source Project
DN OSP 6.4.0 1MB DOS/DPMI(Win9x)
DN 4.9.0 2004 for DOS included in UBCD v3.4.
External links
- DN Line - a Breakthrough in VFS, Softpanorama
- Dos Navigator Home Page, Official RitLabs Dos Navigator Home Page
- Dos Navigator Open Source Project
- Necromancers DOS Navigator, Branch of original Dos Navigator it currently runs on Dos, Windows And Linux
- DOS Navigator/2 Open Source Project ver. 2