Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!super.upenn.edu!eecae!upba!mcdchg!usenet From: dave@murphy.UUCP (Dave Cornutt) Newsgroups: comp.unix Subject: Re: Some thoughts on filenames - "" in particular Message-ID: <2597@mcdchg.UUCP> Date: Tue, 24-Nov-87 13:19:40 EST Article-I.D.: mcdchg.2597 Posted: Tue Nov 24 13:19:40 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 28-Nov-87 18:14:49 EST References: <3844@elecvax.eecs.unsw.oz> Sender: usenet@mcdchg.UUCP Organization: Gould CSD, Fort Lauderdale, FL Lines: 32 Approved: usenet@mcdchg.UUCP Summary: To really do it right, root needs to have a name I know this is beating a dead horse, and probably everyone is sick of this subject by now, and I promise to make this my last posting on this topic. The real problem with "" as a file name, as several folks have already pointed out, is that depending on what context you use it in, it can refer either to the current directory or to the root directory; if you use it as a filename by itself, it's the current directory, but it you construct a filename by appending "/foo" to it, you're referring to a file in the root. The cure is to give root a name, just like every other directory. For example, let "$" be the name of the root. This is a "magic" name; when namei sees "$" by itself in any component of a pathname, it refers to the root, so file "xyz" on the root directory is not "/xyz" but "$/xyz". Then, you can let any null filename mean the current directory; since root has a non-null name, you can append paths to it and have it work. So, "/xyz" now refers to "/xyz", and since the null path is the current directory, "/xyz" refers to xyz in the current directory. Now, you can append paths to the null path and have it refer to files in the current directory, just like every other directory name works. Does this make any sense, or is it too much like VMS? --- "You must be joking, take a running jump" - *Harold the Barrel* Dave Cornutt, Gould Computer Systems, Ft. Lauderdale, FL [Ignore header, mail to these addresses] UUCP: ...!{sun,pur-ee,brl-bmd,uunet,bcopen,rb-dc1}!gould!dcornutt or ...!{ucf-cs,allegra,codas,hcx1}!novavax!gould!dcornutt ARPA: dcornutt@gswd-vms.arpa "The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my employer, not necessarily mine, and probably not necessary."