Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!jkc
From: jkc@Apple.COM (John Kevin Calhoun)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: HyperCard, pathnames, and A/UX
Message-ID: <50687@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 23 Mar 91 17:10:17 GMT
References: <5223@mindlink.UUCP>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 38


In article <5223@mindlink.UUCP> John_Miller@mindlink.UUCP (John Miller) writes:
>How does HyperCard handle file pathnames under A/UX, in its
>"Look For ..." values and in its file handling commands.  Does
>it use the Macintosh ":" specification or does it use the
>UNIX "/" specification?

Whenever HyperCard generates a pathname, it uses colons as separators.
Therefore, when you use the ask and answer commands, or when you evaluate

 the value of word 2 of the long name of this stack

or

 line n of the stacks

you'll always get a pathname delimited by colons.  These pathnames present
no problem under A/UX, because the A/UX file manager understands them in
the same way the Macintosh file manager does.

>I notice that Tech Note #229 (A/UX 2.0 Compatibility Guidelines) states
>"If you must generate a full or relative pathname, it is best to use a
>colon as a pathname delimiter because this reduces the chance of ambiguity."

This is a good guideline, given that A/UX understands both colon-delimited
and slash-delimited pathnames while the Mac OS understands only the
colon-delimited ones.  I can imagine a pathname stored in a file -- a
HyperCard stack or an MPW worksheet, for instance -- that's shared by
machines running either OS. 

However, when you run HyperCard under A/UX, you can use pathnames
delimited by slashes, if you want, in commands that can take pathnames,
such as go, open, close, and picture.  HyperCard's internal smarts about
pathnames will work just as well.

Kevin Calhoun
HyperCard Team
Apple Computer, Inc.