DOS Navigator
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
![]() Screenshot of DOS Navigator | |
Original author(s) | Stefan Tanurkov, Andrew Zabolotny, Sergey Melnik (initial release) |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Ritlabs |
Initial release | 1991 |
Written in | Turbo Pascal, Turbo Vision |
Operating system | DOS, OS/2, Windows |
Type | Orthodox file manager |
Website | ritlabs |
DOS Navigator (DN) is an orthodox file manager for DOS, OS/2 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 systems (VFS): XTree, Briefcase and list-based, DN opened a new generation of OFMs. Also an unlimited number of panels and many new important features make it one of the most powerful (and complex) OFMs.[1]
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 Chișinău, 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 him 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.[2]
DN II was actively developed until the start of 1995, until version 1.35 which should be considered as a milestone in OFM implementations.[1] Several other programmers participated in development after version 1.35. Starting from version 1.37, Slava Filimonov and Ilya Bagdasarov were in charge of bug-fixing. Filimonov and 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 last shareware version was 1.50. In late 1999, Ritlabs decided to make version 1.51 of the DOS Navigator completely free with freely available source code.
Legacy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Spreadsheet_Dos_Navigator.jpg/220px-Spreadsheet_Dos_Navigator.jpg)
Other groups still release software based on the DN open source code, including new features such as support for long filenames, and support for Linux.
- DN 1.51 650 KB for Win32 & OS/2 - Sources (Virtual Pascal) (972,655)
- DOS Navigator Open Source Project (ODN)
- DN OSP 6.4.0 1 MB for DOS/DPMI (Windows 9x)
- Necromancer's DOS Navigator (NDN)
- DN 4.9.0 2004 for DOS included in UBCD v3.4
See also
References
- ^ a b Bezroukov, Nikolai (2013-07-07). "Dos Navigator — a breakthrough in VFS development". Less is More: The Orthodox File Manager (OFM) Paradigm. Softpanorama. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
- ^ Vianello, Francesco (1997-12-10). "DOS Navigator v1.50: how to spy our targets". Fravia's page of reverse engineering. Archived from the original on 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-09-10. (NB. DN as an example of DOS cracking.)
External links
- Official website
- DN Line - a Breakthrough in VFS, Softpanorama
- DOS Navigator Open Source Project
- Necromancer's DOS Navigator, Branch of original DOS Navigator it currently runs on DOS, Windows and Linux
- DOS Navigator/2 Open Source Project ver. 2
- Necromancer's DOS Navigator new versions also 64-bit DOS and Windows
- Necromancer's DOS Navigator new website from 2019 year