Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ncoast.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!lll-crg!ucdavis!ucbvax!decvax!cwruecmp!hal!ncoast!allbery From: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon S. Allbery) Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: The nonorthogonality of `/' Message-ID: <867@ncoast.UUCP> Date: Sun, 27-Oct-85 20:08:22 EST Article-I.D.: ncoast.867 Posted: Sun Oct 27 20:08:22 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 30-Oct-85 06:39:00 EST References: <2359@brl-tgr.ARPA> Organization: Cleveland Public Access UNIX, Cleveland, OH Lines: 33 Keywords: file-system unix root directory >................................................... No doubt some guru will > suggest a clean way round the obvious problem with "/" (but the name of the > root directory is already anomalous, and a counterexample to the c&sf-ness > of the file system). > > -- Andy Walker, Maths Dept, Nottingham Univ > anw@UK.AC.Nott.Maths *** REPLACE THIS POLICE BOX WITH YOUR TARDIS *** So ``/'' is non-orthogonal. (I am about to get TOPS-[12]0/T[W]ENEX users upset at me... flames to PS:) I've seen orthogonal -- is PS: an improve- ment? Worse yet, the easiest way to orthogonalize Unix is: / -> (empty) OR / /tmp -> tmp OR /tmp . -> . OR /. (yuck) foo -> ./foo OR /./foo (double ") /tmp/a -> tmp/a OR /tmp/a foo/bar -> ./foo/bar OR /./foo/bar I don't like either -- is cleaner. (Maybe we should adopt TOPS-20 filenames MINUS GENERATION-RETENTION-COUNT et cetera...?) -- ``Youth, you are guilty of muddy thinking.'' Mentor ncoast!allbery@Case.CSNet (ncoast!allbery%Case.CSNet@CSNet-Relay.ARPA) ..decvax!cwruecmp!ncoast!bsa -- maybe ..genrad!mit-eddie!futura!ncoast!allbery 6615 Center St., Mentor, OH 44060 (I moved) --Phone: +01 216 974 9210 CIS 74106,1032 -- MCI MAIL BALLBERY (WARNING: I am only a part-time denizen...) ncoast is dead, long live ncoast!