RE: Re: SixPack mods for Linux users

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf
> Of Dave McGuire
> Sent: 17 October 2010 20:13
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [H390-VM] Re: SixPack mods for Linux users
> 
> On 10/17/10 10:23 AM, "Fish" (David B. Trout) wrote:
> >>     Every time I accidentally type '/' (the two or three
> >> times a year that I have to do something on a Windows box ;))
> >> it doesn't work, at least in a "cd" command at a prompt.
> >
> > What O/S?
> 
>    Various, probably limited to Server 2000, Server 2003, and XP.
> 
> > Because according to Paul (paoloG) on Win2K forward slashes
> > apparently don't work at the prompt (which is quite surprising to me but
> not
> > altogether unbelievable). It DOES work on WinXP though. That I do know.
> 
>    I was able to try it under Windows 2003 today.  Leading the path with
> a '/' breaks it, as was discussed subsequently.
> 
> > What I suspect may be confusing people is the fact that "/dir" is NOT a
> > valid path in Windows by virtue of the fact that, because it doesn't
> start
> > with a period, it is thus interpreted as an absolute path instead of a
> > relative path, and "/" is an invalid root drive file system
> specification in
> > Windows. In Windows absolute root paths must start with a drive-letter-
> colon
> > (e.g. "C:") sequence.
> >
> > But "./dir" IS a valid path. A valid *relative* path as it turns out.
> 
>    Ok, I see what you mean, thank you for the explanation.  What comes
> out of this is that Microsoft chose to not recognize a path separator
> character as the first character of a directory name to mean an absolute
> path within a filesystem, in an OS that doesn't support the notion of
> mounting other filesystems at arbitrary depths in the hierarchy.

NO! When DOS 1.0 was written it didn't have any notion of directory, and
Microsoft choose to use the "/" character to prefix a command option. For
compatibility reasons this is still the case. 

There are similar disparities in LINUX. So whilst you can enter wild cards
as part of command names, you can't use them on internal system calls. The
shell expands them.

It also supports mounting local file systems at any point in the in the
local hierarchy. For remote file systems the DFS (distributed files system)
does allow you to construct a tree with an arbitrary structure.


> Another "development in a vacuum" issue, I suspect, and not entirely
> surprising, but it is what it is, and knowing the behavior is the
> important part.
> 
>    But there is a major inconsistency here, see below.
> 
> > The point is Windows accepts EITHER forward *or* backward slashes as
> path
> > separators, but the path you specify MUST be a validly formed path.
> > Otherwise you get an error.
> 
>    It (Server 2003) does NOT, however, treat '/' and '\' equally.  As
> with any non-nested-hierarchy-filesystem OS, you can type "cd \" to get
> to the root of the currently selected filesystem ("drive"),  while "cd
> /" does not work...in fact it does nothing, it doesn't even generate an
> error.
> 

Because "/" is a null option.

>    Further, '\' referring the root of the currently selected drive is
> inconsistent with the "absolute root paths must start with a
> drive-letter-colon sequence.
> 

That's because there is no rule "absolute root paths must start with a
drive-letter-colon sequence." 

On Windows there is a current drive, and also each drive letter has its own
current directory. So "cd \" changes the current path on the current drive
to the root. If "C:" is the current drive "cd d:\data" changes the current
path on the d: drive to \data, but does not change the current drive.  

>    Again, knowing the behavior (as inconsistent with both themselves and
> the rest of the computing world as they may be) is the important part,
> and I appreciate your poking me with this additional information, which
> motivated me to go try a few things.
> 
>              -Dave
> 
> --
> Dave McGuire
> Port Charlotte, FL
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------
> 
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
>