Re: [MacPerl] Using UNIX style filenames with MacPerl

[Vicki Brown <vlb@cfcl.com>]

At 15:26 -0700 98/05/13, Matthew Langford wrote:
>
>If one has set the "I want to use Unix-style pathnames" switch, internally
>convert Mac folders with embedded /'s to :'s,

Unfortunately, it's not that simple.  Unix has a concept of root directory; Mac
OS does not.  Mac OS volumes are each rooted in the respective volume. You
could strip the volume name when converting to Unix-style, but converting back?

Also .. is functionally equivalent to :: but ../.. is equivalent to :::

If it were a simple matter of s#/#:# it would probably be running already...

>Or (less desireable) don't support it at all--in other words,
>barf/carp/die if a Mac folder containing "/" or leading dots is found.

Oh, please, no.  I just tried out a TeX formatter that can't deal with with /
anywhere in the path from volume to file.  The file (which I chose with a
standard file open dialog!) was on the desktop.  Meaning in the Desktop Folder.
Of a volume whose name happens to be /system.  I name my boot volume with a
leading /; it sorts to the top in open/save dialogs.

I've run across several installers and other programs recently which can't
handle that and convert the volume name to ystem!

No.  I'm backing Matthias on this one; it's like the \n translation discussion;
if we can't find an elegant way to do it right, we'd best not do it at all;
that, at least, as predictable results.

Vicki
---
Vicki Brown, vlb@cfcl.com        |\      _,,,---,,_
Journeyman Sourceror      ZZZzz /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_
Scripts & Philtres             |,4-  ) )-,_. ,\ (  `'-'
http://www.cfcl.com/~vlb      '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)
P.O. Box 1269 San Bruno, CA  94066

***** Want to unsubscribe from this list?
***** Send mail with body "unsubscribe" to mac-perl-request@iis.ee.ethz.ch