DN (file manager)
| Company type | Software |
|---|---|
| Industry | File management software |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Stefan Tanurkov, Andrew Zabolotny, Sergey Melnik |
| Products | Orthodox file manager |
DOS Navigator (abbreviated as DN) represents an orthodox file manager designed for DOS, OS/2, and Windows operating systems.
Influence
As one of the pioneering OFMs, DOS Navigator introduced three novel varieties of virtual file systems (VFS): the XTree, Briefcase, and list-oriented types. Featuring limitless panel support alongside a rich set of sophisticated functions, DN established a benchmark for advanced OFM capabilities.
History
The first release, DN I (version 0.90), appeared in 1991, developed by Stefan Tanurkov, Andrew Zabolotny, and Sergey Melnik from Chișinău, Moldova. Subsequently, Tanurkov and Dmitry Dotsenko at Moscow State University rewrote the program using Turbo Vision, resulting in DN II.
In 1993, Slava Filimonov became part of the development team, contributing additional modules, enhancing design elements, and improving performance. He also implemented a software key protection mechanism that resisted cracking attempts for nearly four years.
Development of DN II remained vigorous until early 1995 with release 1.35. Afterwards, Filimonov and Ilya Bagdasarov concentrated on resolving bugs through versions 1.37 to 1.39 before departing the project. Maintenance duties then reverted to Tanurkov and Maxim Masiutin.
By 1998, focus shifted primarily to bug corrections as Ritlabs emphasized their commercially successful product, The Bat!. The final shareware edition was version 1.50; later in 1999, Ritlabs made version 1.51 available as free software accompanied by open source code.
Currently, multiple open source derivatives of DN exist, such as the win32/dpmi/os2 "dn/2" initiative and an effort to port it to Linux named "dn2l".
Disadvantages
The original DN incorporates extensive assembly language code, which complicates adaptation to other platforms. The cross-platform DN OSP variant relies on the now-obsolete Virtual Pascal compiler and its associated runtime library. As of January 2022, no DN release supports Unicode beyond Windows environments despite the availability of cross-platform Unicode-capable versions of Turbo Vision for Pascal. Additionally, the licensing terms governing the source code present challenges.
Source code license
Although DN's source code was published under the 3-clause BSD license, it included a Turbo Vision implementation derived from the original Turbo Pascal distribution that was never authorized for derivative licensing. Furthermore, DN OSP contains altered segments of the Virtual Pascal runtime library, whose license forbids redistribution of modified versions—though it remains uncertain if this restriction extends to the runtime component itself.
Legacy
Several ongoing projects build upon DN's open source foundation by incorporating enhancements such as support for long filenames and compatibility with Linux:
- DN 1.51 (650 KB) targeting Win32 & OS/2 – Source code (Virtual Pascal)
- DOS Navigator Open Source Project (ODN)
- dn2l, a Linux port based on DN OSP sources
- 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 Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) version 3.4
See also
External links
- DN Line - a Breakthrough in VFS, Softpanorama
- DOS Navigator Open Source Project
- DOS Navigator/2 Open Source Project ver. 2
- Necromancer's DOS Navigator, a fork running on DOS, Windows, and Linux
- Necromancer's DOS Navigator latest releases, including versions for 64-bit DOS and Windows