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From: olson@endor.harvard.edu (Eric K. Olson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: What is .Bout for?!?
Message-ID: <2959@husc6.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Oct-87 10:53:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: husc6.2959
Posted: Thu Oct  8 10:53:06 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 11-Oct-87 01:43:21 EDT
References: <870003@hpcilzb.HP.COM>
Sender: news@husc6.UUCP
Reply-To: olson@endor.UUCP (Eric K. Olson)
Organization: Lexington Software Design
Lines: 23

In a recent article Ted Johnson writes:
>Could someone please tell me what a .Bout file is for?  A plain
>document icon called .Bout appears every now and then in a folder full
>of PD software.  Get Info... claims that it's 0k large, which seems pretty
>strange.  Anyone care to venture forth with an illuminating explanation?
>

This is a problem with some PD software (most of it quite old).  .Bout is
the name of one of the serial ports on the Macintosh.  If the software tries
to open it the wrong way, it will create a file.  Also, the SUMacC (Stanford
University Mac C - cross compiler, runs on a VAX) compiler, I think, opens
this file under cerain circumstances (very few people use this compiler any
more).

In summary, it's a bug, and can be safely ignored.

-Eric




Eric K. Olson     olson@endor.harvard.edu     harvard!endor!olson     D0760
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