ODN (file manager)
| Company type | Software |
|---|---|
| Industry | File management software |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Stefan Tanurkov, Andrew Zabolotny, Sergey Melnik |
| Headquarters | Chișinău , Moldova |
| Products | Orthodox file manager software for DOS, OS/2, and Windows |
DOS Navigator (abbreviated as DN) is an orthodox file manager designed for DOS, OS/2, and Windows operating systems.
Influence
As an early OFM, DOS Navigator introduced three unique virtual file system varieties: XTree, Briefcase, and list-oriented types. It supports an unlimited number of panels and offers a wide array of advanced features, positioning it among the most sophisticated and capable OFMs available.
History
The initial version, DN I (v 0.90), was launched in 1991 by Stefan Tanurkov, Andrew Zabolotny, and Sergey Melnik from Chișinău, Moldova. Subsequently, Tanurkov and Dmitry Dotsenko at Moscow State University completely rewrote it using Turbo Vision, resulting in DN II.
In 1993, Slava Filimonov partnered with Tanurkov to enhance DN further, introducing new modules, design improvements, performance optimizations, and a strong software key protection mechanism that remained intact for nearly four years.
Development of DN II was actively pursued until early 1995, culminating in version 1.35. Later iterations (1.37–1.39) were maintained by Filimonov and Ilya Bagdasarov with a focus on resolving bugs. After their exit, Tanurkov alongside Maxim Masiutin took over maintenance duties.
By 1998, the project's development largely shifted toward bug fixes as Ritlabs concentrated on their commercially successful product, The Bat!. The last shareware edition was version 1.50; towards the end of 1999, Ritlabs released version 1.51 as freeware accompanied by open source code.
Today, multiple open source forks of DN exist, such as the win32/dpmi/os2 "dn/2" initiative and the Linux adaptation effort known as "dn2l".
Disadvantages
The original DOS Navigator relies extensively on assembler programming, which complicates its adaptation to other platforms. The cross-platform DN OSP depends on the now-obsolete Virtual Pascal compiler and runtime environment. As of January 2022, no DN variant provides Unicode support outside Windows environments despite the availability of cross-platform Turbo Vision versions that do support Unicode. Additionally, the licensing terms of the source code present complications.
Source code license
Although DN's source code was published under the 3-clause BSD license, it incorporates a version of the Turbo Vision library derived from the original Turbo Pascal distribution that was never authorized for derivative licensing. Moreover, DN OSP includes altered components of the Virtual Pascal runtime library whose license forbids redistribution of modified editions; it remains uncertain whether this restriction applies solely to the compiler or extends to the runtime as well.
Legacy
Several projects have extended DN’s open source foundation by adding capabilities such as support for long filenames and compatibility with Linux platforms.
- DN 1.51 (650 KB) for Win32 & OS/2 - Source code (Virtual Pascal)
- DOS Navigator Open Source Project (ODN)
- dn2l Linux port derived from 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) v3.4
See also
External links
- DN Line – An Innovation in VFS, Softpanorama
- DOS Navigator Open Source Initiative
- DOS Navigator/2 Open Source Project version 2
- Necromancer's DOS Navigator, a derivative of the original DOS Navigator compatible with DOS, Windows, and Linux
- Latest releases of Necromancer's DOS Navigator, featuring 64-bit versions for DOS and Windows