Re: SixPack mods for Linux users

Dear Herculeans,

I was out for the day and now I'm reading all your opinions.

So this is my *experience* (not opinion...;-)

WIN2K SP4 - CMD box

(in C: I have a directory HAL)

C:
CD\HAL
C:\HAL    (I am in directory HAL)

C:
CD/HAL    Syntax error

C:
CD./HAL
C:        I'm still in root directory

C:
CD ./HAL
C:        I'm still in root directory

C:
CD C:./HAL
C:        I'm still in root directory

Please tell me what I'm supposed to do to get "/" working in Windows...;-)

Regards

Paul


--- In [email protected], "Dave" <dave.g4ugm@...> wrote:
>
> 
> 
> > -----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
> > 
> > 
> >
>