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From: zu@ethz.UUCP (Urs Zurbuchen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: pathnames
Message-ID: <783@ethz.UUCP>
Date: 16 Feb 89 09:56:06 GMT
References: <2569@pegasus.ATT.COM> <3847@cbnews.ATT.COM> <662@mks.UUCP> <10353@ut-emx.UUCP> <1623@stratus.UUCP>
Reply-To: zu@bernina.UUCP (Urs Zurbuchen)
Organization: ETH Zuerich, Switzerland
Lines: 25

In article <1623@stratus.UUCP> gbs@stratus.UUCP (George B. Smith) writes:
>I have to whole heartedly agree with Gerry on this one.  I would like
>to ask all software authors, commercial and public domain, please make
>sure your programs can handle either the forward slash or back slash
>character as the separator.
Is there really anyone disagreeing? Life could be much more easier if it
was done this way.

>And it is very easy to do, as I said before.  All a program has to do
>is find out the current setting of the switch char.
Now, I don't agree with this one. Why not allow '/' and '\' as directory
separators in pathnames. In most cases you even don't have to stick
with '-' as the switch character but can allow '/' as that, too.

>...  Then, if the current switch char is '-', then
>assume the path separator is the '/';  if the switch char is not the
>'-', then I would say it is safe that you can assume the path separator
>is the '\'.
The safest way is to test for '/' as the switch character. If so, path
separator has to be '\'. Otherwise it's '/'. No need to test for '-'.

		Have a nice day,
		      ...urs

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