Slashdot Mirror
Linux/Mac/Windows File Name Friction
lessthan0 writes "In 1995, Microsoft added long file name support to Windows, allowing more descriptive names than the limited 8.3 DOS format. Mac users scoffed, having had long file names for a decade and because Windows still stored a DOS file name in the background. Linux was born with long file name support four years before it showed up in Windows. Today, long file names are well supported by all three operating systems though key differences remain. "
You have some good points, but I really can't agree with two of your complaints... "the semantic mapping of the extension to filetype, WTF" It seems far better to me than mime-types or magic strings. Mime-types fail due to not being actually encoded on-filesystem, and magic strings require users to use a hex editor to try and identify an alien file type. "the case insensitive nature of file names" Case sensitivity is a big usability issue for people, so burdening the few (the programmers) so that the majority (the users) don't get confused, is a fair trade of IMHO.
So, your OS supports long filenames, huh? Then why doesn't the vendor use them for all the cryptically named shared libraries, scripts, etc. that clutter up any modern os system directory?
They way I look at it, the day I look at something like "d3d8.dll" or whatever drek is fermenting in \WINDOWS32\ and it is actually named with a descriptive filename, then that OS will truly support long filenames.
Not sure where the Linux crown compares, but OS X is getting better with each revision. Classic Mac OS had this one down (mostly) cold.
The white zone is for loading and unloading only. If you need to load or unload go to the white zone. It's a way of life
From the wikipedia entry on NTFS:
"Though the file system supports paths up to ca. 32,000 Unicode characters with each path component (directory or filename) up to 255 characters long, certain names are unusable, since NTFS stores its metadata in regular (albeit hidden and for the most part inaccessible) files; accordingly, user files cannot use these names."
The article incorrectly states "Windows file names can be up to 255 characters, but that includes the full path. A lot characters are wasted if the default storage location is used: "C:\Documents and Settings\USER\My Documents\"." I will grant that this may have been a limitation in the past, but XP has had NTFS from the start, and NTFS is by far the most common windows FS today.
Perhaps that's a bit long of a file name, but it's at least descriptive. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten files titled Agenda 01.doc when they should be more like Tech Committee Agenda 2006-05-01.doc -- it's not excessively long, but with a file name like that I know EXACTLY what's in that file.
-=-=-=-=-=
I'd rather be flamed than ignored.