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From: dmurdoch@watstat.waterloo.edu (Duncan Murdoch)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.programmer
Subject: Re: Can I read a subdirectory file ?
Message-ID: <1990Dec29.152859.25732@maytag.waterloo.edu>
Date: 29 Dec 90 15:28:59 GMT
References: <14237@june.cs.washington.edu> <1990Dec28.174004.12184@cbnewsc.att.com>
Sender: daemon@maytag.waterloo.edu (Admin)
Organization: University of Waterloo
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In article <1990Dec28.174004.12184@cbnewsc.att.com> vgopal@cbnewsc.att.com (venu.p.gopal) writes:
>In article <14237@june.cs.washington.edu>, fester@wolf.cs.washington.edu (Lea Fester) writes:
>! I'd like to read a subdirectory file as a file, but of course DOS
>! won't Open a file with the directory attribute set, and neither can
>! you change that attribute using the correct DOScall (so I can't
>> temporarily reset and then set that attribute.)
>> 
>> Am I forced to go to the FAT to chase down the cluster chain doing
>
>I believe you can do this through the use of FCBs (pre 2.00 DOS style)
>and not through handles.  Haven't done this myself, so I am not speaking
>from experience.

I think the FCB method was a bug in DOS that got fixed.  It apparently worked
in DOS 2.X and maybe some early 3.X versions, but doesn't work in 3.2.  I'd
guess it won't work in higher versions either.

Chasing down the FAT is probably the only reliable way to go.

Duncan Murdoch