From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v481) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed From: Michael Baldwin To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: Subject: [9fans] spaces in filenames Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 23:35:47 -0400 Topicbox-Message-UUID: a3a2b996-eaca-11e9-9e20-41e7f4b1d025 really, what is the big deal with spaces in filenames? yeah, there are some file formats here and there, and some shell files that maybe aren't so careful, so it's not a cakewalk, but it isn't some Big Huge Problem. using shells like rc that manage lists of string works quite well; if you need a list of files use "ls" not "echo"; if you really want to use the output of a command with backquote, set ifs to \t\n. geoff talks about how maddening it is to use filenames with spaces on mac os x. i use mac os x too, and have lots of files with spaces, and i use quotes on the occasion that i refer to them in the shell. i haven't noticed any "problem" that would cause me to go mad, and everything works just fine from the shell and the gui for me. i send spacey filenames to web sites, attach/detach them from mail messages, move them about, and things work. what am i missing? now that i can use spaces, i kinda like using space instead of _ in names -- easier to type and easier to read. why banish the poor lowly space character? so call me a communist for my radical views. the only problem i've had with spaces is getting to spacey files on windows and unix from plan 9 and inferno. i took out the space restriction in inferno and things work swimmingly. yeah, i know there are gotchas here and there, but they really haven't been an issue. i much prefer the ability to manipulate files to the odd gotcha. oh, the non-printable range also includes 7F, so it's really 00-1F and 7F-9F that are restricted. it does seem to be a Good Thing that \t and \n are not allowed, leaving them usable as delimiters. unix lets you create such files, but they definitely seem rare, and it is a bit harder to do from a gui. who cares if they don't work right. but leave poor space alone.