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From: erkyrath@netcom.com (Andrew Plotkin)
Subject: Re: Which editor to use on inf files?
Message-ID: <erkyrathE4oswG.93x@netcom.com>
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References: <5c3clh$i63@whistlepig.cs.indiana.edu> <32E65831.6C05@globalserve.net> <32E92B70.48C9@uiuc.edu> <5cj1ch$4mc$1@neko.syix.com> <5cj6au$dkd@bartlet.df.lth.se>
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 1997 21:55:28 GMT
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Magnus Olsson (mol@bartlet.df.lth.se) wrote:
> In article <5cj1ch$4mc$1@neko.syix.com>,
> Patrick Kellum <patrick@lynx.syix.com> wrote:
> >For some reason, Darrell Rudmann was chating and out came these words of greatness:
> >
> > >> The MacOS identifies the file type by a hidden "extension" marked at the
> >
> > >Thanks for the correction.  Windows 95 should do this.
> >
> >Amigas do this also (with the right app), hasn't anyone created such an
> >app for Windows95 yet?

> That would be pretty hard, considering that there's nowhere to put
> that "hidden extension". The Mac solution - which leaves quite a lot
> to be desired, BTW - is to have a four-character file type in the
> "resource fork" of the file.

To be really, really picky, the type information is in the file 
information block, which is separate from both the data and resource 
forks.

> However, in Windows 95 - like DOS,
> there's no resource fork, but a file is just a stream of bytes. If you
> put file type information in the file, you are in effect adding four
> bytes to it, and then all old DOS and Win16 applications will think
> that they're part of the file, so you lose DOS compatibility.

Shall I start complaining about the thoroughly weird way in which Win95
adds file extensions to the file names? I've been screwed over by this at
least once.

If I do start complaining, I will just want to start the killing. Never
mind. Let's talk about something else.

--Z

-- 

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the
borogoves..."
