Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ncar!ames!amdahl!kim
From: kim@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com (Kim DeVaughn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: The 1001 Paths
Message-ID: <24734@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>
Date: 16 Mar 88 00:14:26 GMT
References: <4587@garfield.UUCP>
Organization: Amdahl Corporation,  Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Lines: 43
Keywords: none

In article <4587@garfield.UUCP>, john13@garfield.UUCP (John Russell) writes:
> Seems to me like the "set" command is the ideal way to deal with the idea
> of multiple possible paths to any particular file.
> 
> So anyone writing applications is quite free to use this method, for instance
> you can do something of the form
> 
> set FONTS=fonts:!fontdisk1:fonts/!wb:fonts/!dpaint:fonts/
> 
> and write a little parse routine to search all locations for any given file.
> This isn't system-wide, but can certainly be added to new and old applications
> alike. To the fellow that wanted include files searched for this way, this is
> just the method that Manx uses. Of course it's up to the application to
> support it, but then an "include file" is specific to a certain type of
> application.

You're right, of course, but I'd really like to see the support for this
initiated at the OS level (i.e., supported by CBM).

Reason is that old bugaboo, standardization.  What happens when you have
two different applications that are expecting to use an environment variable
named FONT, but assume differing string formats?  Or one program wants
the env var named FONT, and another wants FONTS, and another wants ...

Just to muddy the water a bit more, some developers will choose to use to
use the Manx/ARP method, and some will use the new method developed by Bill
Hawes for his WShell (ENV:), and some will continue to use the more limited
"assign" command.

Pretty confusing, especially for non-developer types.

Anyone from CATS want to pick up on this, so we don't have endless religious
discussions about the "best" way?  Or worse, something "designed by committee"?

/kim


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