Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!jk3t+
From: jk3t+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jonathan King)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: Are long card names legal?
Message-ID: <8ZqVc1m00WB7E=b7M2@andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: 15 Feb 90 02:54:57 GMT
References: <12566361650019@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu>
Organization: Psychology, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Lines: 39
In-Reply-To: <12566361650019@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu>

TALLEY-J@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu (James T. Talley) writes:
> I have noticed that you can set the name of a card to some fairly long
> strings (>30 characters), but that the "go" command stops functioning
> for cards with names longer than 29 characters.  In other words,
> 
>   put "This is a test of rather long card names" into x
>   go to cd x
> 
> will _not_ take you to the card named "This is a test of rather long
> card names".  
[...]
> Is this a known limitation?  Should I limit my card names to 29 or fewer
> characters?  Is this also a problem with field, button, and background
> names?  (Obviously a stack name can be no longer than a valid file name.)
> Should I RTFM?  If so, which FM?  :-)

The FM to read is, as usual, the Apple (r) HyperCard (r) Script
Language Guide: The HyperTalk (r) Language.  Published in 1988 by
Addison-Wesley as one of The Official Pulbications from Apple
Computer, Inc., the book lists for $23.00 and is worth every cent.
(The ISBN is 0-201-17632-7).  

Without this book, you continually run into bizarre features of
HyperCard and bang your head against the wall.  With this book you
will still run into bizarre features of HyperCard, but at least you
can look them up in the FM.

The fact that most names are limited to *31* characters is listed with
the other HyperCard limits on pages 267-8 of the HCSLG.  "But", you
say, "names fail at 29 characters!"  Yes, but this is HyperCard:
twenty-nine characters and two double quotes make thirty-one, you
see...but I've ranted before about strings and quotes and names.

I have to add, however, that this problem would be just a curiosity if
HyperCard had real data structures, since people wouldn't be tempted
to use long names as containers.  Maybe HyperCard 2.0 will have better
data structures to go along with the promised Mr.  Coffee drivers.

jking