LFN rant

[Claude]

In 1994, (as in: 20 years ago), Microsoft introduced LFNs as opposed to 8.3 file names.

And yet, 99.9% of all software developers still use 8.3 for their setup software.

For example, why have a new version (say 3.56) of software x published as xsetup.exe rather than "x version 3.56 setup.exe"

Has anyone ever had problems downloading files with a long file name ?

[Rudi]

I've had issues in the past with saving/downloading webpage names in the excess of 256 chars, but not to much issues...

PS:
An interesting Nostalgic trend happening -
-- Long file name rant (the days of 8 letter file names - most of mine were 7 letters followed by a tilde ~ )
--Tiny lizard (WOPR days)
-- For all the over-aged hippies out there (i'm too young for this one!)
-- Computing nostalgia (punch cards...)

[HansV]

Yeah, we're getting old...

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

[Rudi]

1.jpg

[/size]

[John Gray]

-- Long file name rant (the days of 8 letter file names - most of mine were 7 letters followed by a tilde ~ )

<pedant>If they were truncated LFNs, they would have been of the form FILNAM~1.EXT ...</pedant>

[Rudi]

TX for the correction John.
It's been a while since I saw the 8.3 format.

[ChrisGreaves]

Has anyone ever had problems downloading files with a long file name ?

Not with the downloading, as such.
My main problem is when the long file name reads Setup_h37fhn_jnheu8rehf_6375.9g8.exe or similar, total and abolute glyphsense.

I still use 8.3 names for things like projects (version 237 of my Indexer will be titled Indxr237.dot) but that's more to accommodate my 20-year old installation routine than anything.

I noted last week that the SUSTY instruction on the old ICL 1900 computers took a message string up to 40 characters.
My guess is that 40 represented half a punched card width, and 80 was a magic number for buffers in those days.
OTOH a tiny part of me wonders if, in the 1960s, ICL was anticipating Twitter ...

[jonwallace]

My first computer with a disk drive was an Amstrad cpc6128. It used 8.3 filenames (based on CP/M). When I got a Commodore Amiga, it's long filename support was liberating. Then I had to get a PC (with DOS and windows 3.1) for my Open University course. What a backward step, especially after the Amiga.

But I agree with Chris (I know, it probably won't happen again) about files called things like (quick look in download folder) bradmin3390006eur.exe.