Ticket #43914

Minimalist file browser included in CORE

Open Date: 2022-02-19 05:59 Last Update: 2022-02-28 05:54

Reporter:
Owner:
(None)
Status:
Open
Component:
MileStone:
(None)
Priority:
5 - Medium
Severity:
5 - Medium
Resolution:
None
File:
None

Details

Requested by Robert a couple of days (or weeks?) ago: having some tiny file browser included with SvarDOS so new users could easily browser their disk without typing all those pesky CD commands.

MS-DOS used to include DOSSHELL. Here the scope could be much less ambitious: just browsing directories, ability to launch EXE/COM/BAT files and maybe look at text files.

Ticket History (3/5 Histories)

2022-02-19 05:59 Updated by: mateuszviste
  • New Ticket "Minimalist file browser included in CORE" created
2022-02-20 01:23 Updated by: bttr
Comment

Probably best done in (Open) WATCOM C, because we already have the SvarLANG lib for translations.

Please, no dual-pane Norton Commander clone!

What I have in mind is:

  1. Runs on a 8088 with 256 KiB RAM at reasonable speed.
  2. Single pane (NC-style) with filename, file size, file date & time. Show complete path to current directory as long as it fit's an 80-column screen. Otherwise shorten it an intelligent way.
  3. By default only show .BAT, .COM, .EXE, .TXT, and .DOC files of the current directory. Pressing Ctrl+H (or something similar) reveals all files.
  4. Allow user to browse to other directories and to change to another drive.
  5. Pressing ENTER on .BAT, .COM, .EXE runs these programs.
  6. Pressing ENTER on .TXT, .DOC opens an internal ASCII text viewer.
  7. .BAT, .COM, .EXE may have other colors than .TXT or .DOC and the other files. (Not on monochrome screens, of course.)
  8. Respect COUNTRY settings.
  9. Translatable to other (human *g*) languages.
  10. Some omni-present help (or F1, if it get's longer) about usage and keyboard shortcuts.
  11. But less is more.
  12. No need to support a mouse.
2022-02-20 01:35 Updated by: mateuszviste
Comment

Basically a TUI over DIR, CD, TYPE and %COMSPEC%/C commands.

Not a very challenging job, unless one strives for minimum disk space footprint (like "under 20K" or so), then it becomes interesting (and still very doable in OpenWatcom C).

MIT or BSD license preferred. GPL would be acceptable, too, but that requires adding the *huge* license file to the package... Not very space-efficient.

2022-02-20 01:42 Updated by: bttr
Comment

Reply To mateuszviste

Basically a TUI over DIR, CD, TYPE and %COMSPEC%/C commands.

Yes. -- The %COMSPEC% /C might be a problem with TSRs. So reboot often. *g*

Not a very challenging job, unless one strives for minimum disk space footprint (like "under 20K" or so), then it becomes interesting (and still very doable in OpenWatcom C).

Let's see, if Carsten accepts the challenge.

MIT or BSD license preferred. GPL would be acceptable, too, but that requires adding the *huge* license file to the package... Not very space-efficient.

Or as ecm would say:

Usage of the works is permitted provided that this
instrument is retained with the works, so that any entity
that uses the works is notified of this instrument.

DISCLAIMER: THE WORKS ARE WITHOUT WARRANTY.

(Edited, 2022-02-20 01:43 Updated by: bttr)
2022-02-28 05:54 Updated by: bttr
  • Component Update from (None) to packages

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