Re: [Automake-NG] [off-list] Re: Removing support for DOS, DJGPP and Windos < 2000 in Automake-NG

[Stefano Lattarini]

[re-adding the list]

Hi Peter, thanks for the quick answer.

On 2012-05-21 13:27, Stefano Lattarini wrote:
>
> Hello automakers.
>
> As part of the general de-crufting of Automake-NG, I'd like to remove support 
> for
> MS-DOS, DJGPP and older Windows.  But of course, I'd rather not cause 
> regressions
> in MinGW support while ding so.
>
> So I'd like to know answers to the following questions with certainty:
>
>  1) Are filenames starting with a dot portable to MinGW and modern Windows
>     systems (i.e., Windows 2000 or later)?
>
>  2) Can we transparently use and handle files which are not unique according
>     to the 8+3 limit (8 characters for file name, 3 for the file extension)?
>
> If I read the Autoconf manual (section "File System Conventions") correctly,
> the answer to both questions is "yes", but I'd rather double check here, in
> case some Windows/MinGW expert has something to add.
>

On 05/21/2012 02:10 PM, Peter Rosin replied:
>
> [my] time is indeed scarce.
>
> Off the top of my head, this is not so much an OS question as a file system
> question. NTFS handles these cases,
>
Good.

> FAT not so much. Since I haven't double
> checked, I better add "IIRC" though. And I think the explorer has some crap in
> it that prevents you from *creating* files with a leading dot, and other tools
> are likely to suffer similar limitations, but who cares about those tools and
> who cares about FAT?
>
Not me :-)

> People building directly on a USB stick perhaps?
>
"Don't do that then" I'd say.

> Oh what the hell, I just tried and a few weeks old USB stick claiming to be
> FAT32 and it supports a leading dot in a file name.
>
Even better.

> I don't think 2 is an issue for any windowsy FS with "long" name support.
>
Good.

So I can attempt the planned simplifications.  Patches will follow in the next 
days.

Thanks,
  Stefano