Midnight Commander
Encyclopedia
GNU Midnight Commander (mc) is a free
cross-platform
orthodox file manager and a clone
of Norton Commander
originally created by Miguel de Icaza
.
Midnight Commander is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
.
with a text user interface
. The main interface consists of two panels which display the file system. It is used in a similar way to many other programs run in the Unix shell
. Arrow keys control file selection, the insert key is used to select files and the Function Keys
perform operations such as renaming, editing and copying files. Later versions of the Midnight Commander additionally have mouse
support for easier operation. Such versions are aware of GPM
and X terminal emulators (such as GNOME Terminal
or xterm
) which support mouse reporting. When running inside an X terminal, these versions can update the name of the window in which Midnight Commander runs (if allowed by the terminal emulator).
Midnight Commander's features include the ability to view the contents of RPM
package files, to work with common archive formats as if they were simply another directory, and to function as an FTP
or FISH client. Midnight Commander also includes an editor called mcedit, which can be executed as standalone program or from Midnight Commander using the F4 key. mcedit's features include syntax highlighting
for many languages, macros, code snippets, simple integration with external tools, automatic indentation, mouse support, clipboard and the ability to work in both ASCII
and hex
modes. Users also have the option to replace mcedit with the editor of their choice (Options Menu>Configuration>[Don't] Use Internal Edit).
Midnight Commander can also rename groups of files, unlike a number of other file manager
s that can only rename one file at a time. This is convenient for manipulating large collections of files, e.g. to make them conform to a new naming convention
. Midnight Commander can also move files to a different directory
at the same time as it renames them. It lets the user specify the original and resulting file names using wildcard character
s. This makes the power of regular expression
s available for renaming files, with a convenient user interface. In addition, the user can select whether or not to utilize "shell
patterns" or "globs" (automatic grouping of wildcards). All of these features are available by using the File > Rename/Move menu selection. (Pressing F1 would then produce a brief explanation of the options, including examples of how to use wildcards.)
Midnight Commander is based on versatile text interfaces, such as Ncurses
or S-Lang, which allow it to work on a regular console, inside an X Window terminal, over SSH connections, RS-232
interface (for embedded devices) and all kinds of remote shells.
locales for Unicode
was added in 2009 to development versions of Midnight Commander. Support is now part of the latest stable version.
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...
cross-platform
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
orthodox file manager and a clone
Clone (computer science)
In computing, a clone is a hardware or software system that is designed to mimic another system. Compatibility with the original system is usually the explicit purpose of cloning hardware or low-level software such as operating systems...
of Norton Commander
Norton Commander
Norton Commander was a prototypical orthodox file manager , written by John Socha and released by Peter Norton Computing . NC is a file manager which provides a text user interface on top of DOS. It was officially produced by Symantec between 1986 and 1998...
originally created by Miguel de Icaza
Miguel de Icaza
Miguel de Icaza is a Mexican free software programmer, best known for starting the GNOME and Mono projects.-Early years:Miguel de Icaza was born in Mexico City and studied at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México but never received a degree. He came from a family of scientists in which his...
.
Midnight Commander is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
Design
Midnight Commander is a console applicationConsole application
A console application is a computer program designed to be used via a text-only computer interface, such as a text terminal, the command line interface of some operating systems or the text-based interface included with most Graphical User Interface operating systems, such as the Win32 console in...
with a text user interface
Text user interface
TUI short for: Text User Interface or Textual User Interface , is a retronym that was coined sometime after the invention of graphical user interfaces, to distinguish them from text-based user interfaces...
. The main interface consists of two panels which display the file system. It is used in a similar way to many other programs run in the Unix shell
Unix shell
A Unix shell is a command-line interpreter or shell that provides a traditional user interface for the Unix operating system and for Unix-like systems...
. Arrow keys control file selection, the insert key is used to select files and the Function Keys
Function key
A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard which can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions...
perform operations such as renaming, editing and copying files. Later versions of the Midnight Commander additionally have mouse
Mouse (computing)
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
support for easier operation. Such versions are aware of GPM
GPM (software)
GPM which means "general purpose mouse" provides mouse support in Linux virtual consoles. It is included in most Linux distributions.ncurses supports GPM; many applications use ncurses mouse-support....
and X terminal emulators (such as GNOME Terminal
GNOME Terminal
GNOME Terminal is a terminal emulator for the GNOME desktop environment written by Havoc Pennington and others. Terminal emulators allow users to execute commands using a real UNIX shell while remaining on their graphical desktop.-Features:...
or xterm
Xterm
In computing, xterm is the standard terminal emulator for the X Window System. A user can have many different invocations of xterm running at once on the same display, each of which provides independent input/output for the process running in it .xterm originated prior to the X Window System...
) which support mouse reporting. When running inside an X terminal, these versions can update the name of the window in which Midnight Commander runs (if allowed by the terminal emulator).
Midnight Commander's features include the ability to view the contents of RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...
package files, to work with common archive formats as if they were simply another directory, and to function as an FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
or FISH client. Midnight Commander also includes an editor called mcedit, which can be executed as standalone program or from Midnight Commander using the F4 key. mcedit's features include syntax highlighting
Syntax highlighting
Syntax highlighting is a feature of some text editors that display text—especially source code—in different colors and fonts according to the category of terms. This feature eases writing in a structured language such as a programming language or a markup language as both structures and...
for many languages, macros, code snippets, simple integration with external tools, automatic indentation, mouse support, clipboard and the ability to work in both ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
and hex
Hex editor
A hex editor is a type of computer program that allows a user to manipulate the fundamental binary data that makes up computer files. Note that computer files can be very small to very large...
modes. Users also have the option to replace mcedit with the editor of their choice (Options Menu>Configuration>[Don't] Use Internal Edit).
File manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify file attributes, properties...
s that can only rename one file at a time. This is convenient for manipulating large collections of files, e.g. to make them conform to a new naming convention
Naming convention
A naming convention is a convention for naming things. The intent is to allow useful information to be deduced from the names based on regularities. For instance, in Manhattan, streets are numbered, with East-West streets being called "Streets" and North-South streets called "Avenues".-Use...
. Midnight Commander can also move files to a different directory
Directory (file systems)
In computing, a folder, directory, catalog, or drawer, is a virtual container originally derived from an earlier Object-oriented programming concept by the same name within a digital file system, in which groups of computer files and other folders can be kept and organized.A typical file system may...
at the same time as it renames them. It lets the user specify the original and resulting file names using wildcard character
Wildcard character
-Telecommunication:In telecommunications, a wildcard character is a character that may be substituted for any of a defined subset of all possible characters....
s. This makes the power of regular expression
Regular expression
In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means for "matching" strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters. Abbreviations for "regular expression" include "regex" and "regexp"...
s available for renaming files, with a convenient user interface. In addition, the user can select whether or not to utilize "shell
Shell (computing)
A shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users of an operating system which provides access to the services of a kernel. However, the term is also applied very loosely to applications and may include any software that is "built around" a particular component, such as web...
patterns" or "globs" (automatic grouping of wildcards). All of these features are available by using the File > Rename/Move menu selection. (Pressing F1 would then produce a brief explanation of the options, including examples of how to use wildcards.)
Midnight Commander is based on versatile text interfaces, such as Ncurses
Ncurses
ncurses is a programming library that provides an API which allows the programmer to write text user interfaces in a terminal-independent manner. It is a toolkit for developing "GUI-like" application software that runs under a terminal emulator...
or S-Lang, which allow it to work on a regular console, inside an X Window terminal, over SSH connections, RS-232
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 is the traditional name for a series of standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals connecting between a DTE and a DCE . It is commonly used in computer serial ports...
interface (for embedded devices) and all kinds of remote shells.
Unicode support
Native support for UTF-8UTF-8
UTF-8 is a multibyte character encoding for Unicode. Like UTF-16 and UTF-32, UTF-8 can represent every character in the Unicode character set. Unlike them, it is backward-compatible with ASCII and avoids the complications of endianness and byte order marks...
locales for Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
was added in 2009 to development versions of Midnight Commander. Support is now part of the latest stable version.
External links
- The Midnight Commander for win32 – a distribution for Microsoft Windows
- The Midnight Commander for Mac OS X – Universal Binaries from the official sources