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win9x be like: (lemmy.sdf.org)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 months ago (2 children)

ELI5?

[–] [email protected] 66 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Short answer: Windows doesn't let you name a file "con".

Long answer: Tom Scott video

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 months ago (4 children)

NTFS in general has a bunch of ridiculous, archaic restrictions that a more modern-ish one like ext4 doesn't. Does NTFS still not allow you to use a question mark in your filename?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Name a file in Linux ~ and then delete it again.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

rm \~?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Well if you put it in like that it would give an error. But if you used the right slash you can kiss your home folder goodbye probably. Maybe rm ./~ would work

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

~ resolves to your home folder only if it's at the beginning of a path. /~ isn't the same as ~. Go ahead and test it with something other than rm if you don't believe me (this is the Internet, I could be lying).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Hey you're right, I tried it with rm because I'm a maniac.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

in tab completion I trust...

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

Apparently not.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Bro you either know what the fuck is in that file, or you shouldn't be renaming it in the first place.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Unnamed(7)FinalFinalThisTimePlease?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

the question mark is a wildcard, so is asterisk. slashes are used in paths. characters you can't use usually have implications for the OS. otherwise you can name your file pretty much anything.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Yeah, I think it's just funny comparing it with the usual situation on Linux, where there's even less restrictions. I believe you can actually put a newline in a file name, for example, though I'll need to check and come back later.

I'd need to rename a massive amount of files if I ever wanted to go back to Windows.

P.S. yup. Generally, just avoid /, null, and you're good to go.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If only there were a special path like, oh I don't know, /dev for device handles.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

Small businesses like Microsoft don't have the funding to develop such an advanced system.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

In Windows certain words are reserved for system use. When naming files and directories, you are unable to use these words. Con, being short for "console", is one of these words. Con is also the Spanish word for "with", so a Spanish speaking user could not, for example, have a directory called "Fotos con Jim".

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago

i think you are only restricted if the entire name is "con"

someone with windows can test this out for us.