Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!diku!dkuug!ambush!kimcm
From: kimcm@ambush.UUCP (Kim Chr. Madsen)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re^2: Kernel Hacks & Weird Filenames
Message-ID: <758@ambush.UUCP>
Date: 13 May 88 09:39:33 GMT
References: <13041@brl-adm.ARPA> <14020039@hpisod2.HP.COM> <326@augean.OZ> <7869@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Organization: AmbraSoft A/S (Denmark)
Lines: 27

In article <7869@brl-smoke.ARPA> gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) writes:

>Geez.  Haven't you heard of "pipes and filters"?  Pipe the output of "ls"
>into a filter that converts whatever your notion of unprintable characters
>may be into whatever you think the corresponding printable equivalent
>should be.  Don't try to muck around with the basic system kernel and
>utilities!

Come, come!

Don't be so hasty, some UNIX versions of ls doesn't even print the
filename correct if it contains control-characters or characters with
8'th bit set, but prints a '?' instead of these characters (obviously
in a well meant attempt to not screw-up the user's terminal).  If this
is the case a filter will have no way of guessing what funny character
caused the question-mark.  However such behaviour of ls should be
mocked with in order to make the novice user able to remove such a
file without assistance from a guru, or at least be able to know the
name of the file without having to resort to "od -c ."

Regards,

Kim Chr. Madsen, AmbraSoft A/S, Rojelskaer 15, DK-2840 Holte (Denmark)
UUCP: kimcm@ambush.dk, PHONE: +45 2424 111, FAX: +45 2423 090

Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. 
					-- The Bible, Joel, II:28