Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!dlyons
From: dlyons@Apple.COM (David Lyons)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: P8, lowercase & Sys Disk 5.0
Message-ID: <31082@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 19 May 89 05:12:46 GMT
References: <8905182336.AA05791@crash.cts.com>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 41

In article <8905182336.AA05791@crash.cts.com> pnet01!pro-sol!mdavis@nosc.mil writes:
>Network Comment: to #7251 by pnet01!crash!apple.com!dlyons
>
>> you just get a file-already-exists error, and the old capitalization
>> is retained.  Not sure if this is the most reasonable behavious or
>> not...
>
>Mac HFS won't allow two files to share the same name (regardless of upper or
>lower case).  If you have a file called "OOGA" and try to create a new file
>called "Ooga", the Mac will complain.  I guess the GS/OS designers are just
>following what the Mac does.

The ProDOS FST won't let you have two filenames that are identical except for
case either.  The thing I was trying to get at is this:  If a file called 
SNORKLE already exists and I try to Save As "Snorkle" from my favorite word
processor, one of two things will happen.

(1) The word processor will DESTROY the old file Snorkle, which will destroy
SNORKLE.  Then it will CREATE the new file Snorkle, OPEN it, WRITE to it, and
CLOSE it.  Fine.  We now have a file called Snorkle.

(2) The word processor will try to CREATE the file Snorkle, but it will get
the error "duplicate filename" from GS/OS, since the file SNORKLE already
exists (with a different capitalization).  It will OPEN the file, WRITE to it,
SET_EOF on it (to truncate in case the old file was longer), and finally CLOSE
it.  Fine.  We now have a file called SNORKLE.

Weird, eh?

I don't know what to do about it, other than recommend that applications
DESTROY and reCREATE files if they want to allow the user to change the
capitalization by saving over it.

 --Dave Lyons, Apple Computer, Inc.          |   DAL Systems
   AppleLink--Apple Edition: DAVE.LYONS      |   P.O. Box 875
   AppleLink--Personal Edition: Dave Lyons   |   Cupertino, CA 95015-0875
   GEnie: D.LYONS2 or DAVE.LYONS         CompuServe: 72177,3233
   Internet/BITNET:  dlyons@apple.com    UUCP:  ...!ames!apple!dlyons

   My opinions are my own, not Apple's.