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From: gerry@dialogic.com (Gerry Lachac)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
Subject: Re: Does anyone have unix utilities for OS/2
Message-ID: <1991May02.135424.17001@dialogic.com>
Date: 2 May 91 13:54:24 GMT
Article-I.D.: dialogic.1991May02.135424.17001
References: <72009@microsoft.UUCP> <1991Apr30.133157.6453@dialogic.com> <1991Apr30.234748.10836@netcom.COM>
Organization: Dialogic Corporation
Lines: 35

In article <1991Apr30.234748.10836@netcom.COM> resnicks@netcom.COM (Steve Resnick) writes:
>
>I never have known UNIX to refer to drives at all. The problem with C:
>refering to C:/ is that it's inconsitant with the DOS/OS2 file system.

Ok, I'll agree with the fact that it is inconsistant with the way DOS
does things.  

>What UNIX are you using that uses drive identifiers as pathname components?
>Not SysV, Xenix, or Sun OS ... 

Your right, no UNIX shell that I know of lets me do that.  Call me an
Amiga-weenie if you will, but I can do it that way under AmigaDOS,
which is something I'm used to doing at home.  Also Novell (arguablly
a DOS file-system) lets you refer to network drives by drive
identifier.  I can "DIR SYS:" or "DIR SYS:/PUBLIC", but I can just
"SYS:" and get to the "SYS:" drive.  (Actually you are really supposed
to map the SYS: drive to a letter device like L: so you can do the
standard DOS file-system things)

And in addition, VAX VMS uses DEVICE: as a device (with other arcane
syntax, it's been 8 years since I used a VAX).  I have alway been
uncomfortable refering to a device (such as C:) that can change on the
fly.  I like to think of the letter/name to the left of the colon to
be a physical or logical device that doesn't jump around, so if I
delete C:*, I know exactly WHAT I am deletely.  To each there own...

:-)

-gerry
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