Chapter 8 Research topic
Consult curent literature on the Internet to resarch file naming conventions for four different operating systems. Note the acceptable range of characters, maximum length, case sensitivity, etc. for each! Give example of both acceptable and unacceptable filenames. Cite your sources, and include your name.
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DOS - Under MS-DOS and 16-bit FAT file systems, file and directory names are restricted to eight characters with a three-character file extension, such as CHAPTER4.TXT. This naming convention is often referred to as the 8.3 file-naming rule or the standard MS-DOS file-naming rule. Because of it, when you work with files at the Command prompt you may have problems accessing files and directories.
found here
There is no case sensitivity because it is the same OS that microsoft windows (older versions) were built on.
OS/X - Mac and Linux have the same core operating system so the file name conventions for OS/X is the same. Look below for an explanation.
WINDOWS - The naming conventions for windows are as follows:
No Case Sensitivity
Maximum length of file name is 255 characters to include extension.
Spaces allowed: Yes
Numbers allowed: Yes
Characters not allowed: *\:<>|"/?
File Names not allowed: Aux, Com1, Com2, Com3, Com4, Con, Lpt1, Lpt2, Lpt3, Pm, Nul
Taken from here
LINUX - Case Sensitive: Yes
Maximum length of file name: 256 characters not to exclude extension
Spaces allowed: No
Numbers allowed: Yes (alphanumeric)
Finally, this except taken from here goes into further detail about the use of special or reserved keys.
Other characters are possible but not recommended. In particular, it is not recommended to use special metacharacters: "*" (asterisk), "?" (question mark), " " (space), "$" (dollar sign), "&" (ampersand), any brackets, etc.
Examples of bad names or not allowed names:
Windows - "Where is this?"
Linux/ OS/X - "My favorite photo" (spaces not allowed)
DOS - Aux (reserved word for a port on computer)
Acceptable filenames:
Windows: "My Documents"
Linux or OS/X : waterfall.jpg
DOS - Yahoo.csv
Above comment posted by Steve Hanson
All file systems follow the same general naming conventions for an individual file:Microsoft Windows, Mac OS,and Linux use a base file name and an optional extension, separated by a period. However, each file system, such as NTFS and FAT, can have specific and differing rules about the formation of the individual components in a directory or file name.
The following fundamental rules enable applications to create and process valid names for files and directories, regardless of the file system:
Use a period to separate the base file name from the extension in the name of a directory or file.
Use a backslash (\) to separate the components of a path. The backslash divides the file name from the path to it, and one directory name from another directory name in a path.
For additional details about what a path is, see the Path Names and Namespaces section below.
Use a backslash as required as part of volume names, for example, the "C:\" in "C:\path\file" or the "\\server\share" in "\\server\share\path\file" for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) names. You cannot use a backslash in the actual file or directory name components because it separates the names into components.
Use almost any character in the current code page for a name, including Unicode characters and characters in the extended character set (128–255), except for the following:
The following reserved characters are not allowed:
< > : " / \ | ? *
Characters whose integer representations are in the range from zero through 31 are not allowed.
Any other character that the target file system does not allow.
Use a period as a directory component in a path to represent the current directory, for example ".\tmp.txt".
Use two consecutive periods (..) as a directory component in a path to represent the parent of the current directory, for example "..\tmp.txt".
Do not use the following reserved device names for the name of a file:
CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9
Also avoid these names followed immediately by an extension; for example, NUL.txt is not recommended.
Do not assume case sensitivity. For example, consider the names OSCAR, Oscar, and oscar to be the same, even though some file systems (such as a POSIX-compliant file system) may consider them as different. Note that NTFS supports POSIX semantics for case sensitivity but this is not the default behavior. For additional information, see CreateFile.
Do not end a file or directory name with a trailing space or a period. Although the underlying file system may support such names, the operating system does not. However, it is acceptable to start a name with a period.
http://msdn.microsoft.com
MS-DOS
Character Limit: 8.3 (8 characters, plus an optional extension, signaled by a period and up to 3 characters)
Blank Spaces: No
Case Sensitive: No
Macintosh
Character Limit: 31 characters
Blank Spaces: Yes
Case Sensitive: No
Windows 2000
Character Limit: 256 characters
Blank Spaces: Yes
Case Sensitive: No
Linux
Character Limit: 256 characters
Blank Spaces: Yes
Case Sensitive: Yes
My Source
Posted by Lisa Vidal
Windows--No Case Sensitivity
Maximum length of file name is 255 characters...yes spaces and numbers...Aux, Com1, Com2, Com3, Com4, Con, Lpt1, Lpt2, Lpt3, Pm, Nul are not accepted for file names...
osx//Linux--They Are Both The same Core System. Yes Case Sensitive:
256 characters Maximum length of file name no spaces and yes to numbers
Dos--file and directory names are restricted to eight characters with a three-character file extension, There is no case sensitivity
Jamey
All file systems follow the same general naming conventions for an individual file: a base file name and an optional extension, separated by a period. However, each file system, such as NTFS and FAT, can have specific and differing rules about the formation of the individual components in a directory or file name. Character count limitations can also be different and can vary depending on the path name prefix format used. Any Windows (Win32) application developer should be aware of these limitations and differences and know which file and path names are valid.
For example, the older MS-DOS FAT file system supports a maximum of 8 characters for the base file name and 3 characters for the extension, for a total of 12 characters including the dot separator. This is commonly known as an 8.3 file name. The Windows FAT and NTFS file systems are not limited to 8.3 file names, because they have long file name support.
Be aware that the term directory simply refers to a special type of file as far as the file system is concerned, therefore in certain contexts some reference material will use the general term file to encompass both concepts of directories and data files as such. Because of the higher level nature of this topic, it will use the term file to refer to actual data files only.
The following fundamental rules enable applications to create and process valid names for files and directories, regardless of the file system:
Use a period to separate the base file name from the extension in the name of a directory or file.
Use a backslash (\) to separate the components of a path. The backslash divides the file name from the path to it, and one directory name from another directory name in a path. For additional details about what a path is, see the Path Names and Namespaces section below.
Use a backslash as required as part of volume names, for example, the "C:\" in "C:\path\file" or the "\\server\share" in "\\server\share\path\file" for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) names. You cannot use a backslash in the actual file or directory name components because it separates the names into components.
Use almost any character in the current code page for a name, including Unicode characters and characters in the extended character set (128–255), except for the following:
The following reserved characters are not allowed:
< > : " / \ | ? *
Characters whose integer representations are in the range from zero through 31 are not allowed.
Any other character that the target file system does not allow.
Use a period as a directory component in a path to represent the current directory, for example ".\tmp.txt".
Use two consecutive periods (..) as a directory component in a path to represent the parent of the current directory, for example "..\tmp.txt".
Do not use the following reserved device names for the name of a file:
CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9
Also avoid these names followed immediately by an extension; for example, NUL.txt is not recommended.
Do not assume case sensitivity. For example, consider the names OSCAR, Oscar, and oscar to be the same, even though some file systems (such as a POSIX-compliant file system) may consider them as different. Note that NTFS supports POSIX semantics for case sensitivity but this is not the default behavior. For additional information, see CreateFile.
Do not end a file or directory name with a trailing space or a period. Although the underlying file system may support such names, the operating system does not. However, it is acceptable to start a name with a period.
Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365247.aspx
Naming Conventions
Msdn.Microsoft.com talks about basic naming conventions and filename paths, maximum paths, relative paths, and short and long file names and paths. As far as naming conventions it talks about where periods are placed in filenames and where backslashes are placed as well as what characters are forbidden when making filenames. Some of the forbidden characters are <> : “ /\ | ? *. No characters that integers range from 0 to 31. A period represents the current directory component, while 2 periods consecutively represent the parent of the current directory.
DOS: 8.3 naming convention, 8 characters max followed by a period Wikipedia.org. Usually case-sensitive but in this case file and directory names are uppercase.
Windows use a period to separate the base file from the extension. Use a backslash (\) to separate the components of a path. Use a backslash for volume names. Ex. “C:\”. You can use almost any character, including Unicode characters in the extended character set (128-255) except the above mentioned forbidden characters. Do not assume names have to be case sensitive. And last but not least do not end a file or directory name with a period or a trailing space. You can however start a name with a period. Msdn.Microsoft.com.
Linux filenames are limited to 14 bytes but can support filenames up to 255 bytes in length! They can contain any characters other than (1) or (/) slash. These characters are reserved for the root directory. Spaces are permitted but not recommended. These filenames typically use alphanumeric characters, mostly lowercase. Filenames should never begin with a hyphen. Special characters such as $, %, and [] have special meaning to the shell and can be very distracting. Linfo.org
MAC – The main and most important thing with Mac naming conventions is that the user is mostly transferring files to and from Windows or another operating system. When transferring files from Mac to Windows you should use basic Windows or Microsoft naming conventions. For cross-platform compatibility always add the appropriate file extension when saving a file. Quark.com. Mac has a 31 character limit. Microsoft.com
Tara
Stefanie said
MS-DOS FAT file system supports a maximum of 8 characters for the base file name and 3 characters for the extension, for a total of 12 characters including the dot separator. This is commonly known as an 8.3 file name. The Windows FAT and NTFS file systems are not limited to 8.3 file names, because they have long file name support. MS-DOS FAT has no case sensitivity or blank spaces.
OS/X - Mac and Linux have the same core operating system so the file name conventions for OS/X is the same.
Maximum length of file name: 256 characters not to exclude extension
Spaces allowed: No
Numbers allowed: Yes (alphanumeric)
WINDOWS No Case Sensitivity
Maximum length of file name is 255 characters to include extension.
Spaces allowed: Yes
Numbers allowed: Yes
Characters not allowed: *\:<>|"/?
File Names not allowed: Aux, Com1, Com2, Com3, Com4, Con, Lpt1, Lpt2, Lpt3, Pm, Nul
msdn.microsoft.com
FAT is by far the most simplistic of the file systems supported by Windows NT. The FAT file system is characterized by the file allocation table (FAT), which is really a table that resides at the very "top" of the volume. To protect the volume, two copies of the FAT are kept in case one becomes damaged. In addition, the FAT tables and the root directory must be stored in a fixed location so that the system's boot files can be correctly located.FAT uses the traditional 8.3 file naming convention and all filenames must be created with the ASCII character set. The name of a file or directory can be up to eight characters long, then a period (.) separator, and up to a three character extension. The name must start with either a letter or number and can contain any characters except for the following:
. " / \ [ ] : ; | = ,
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/100108
Bryon M.
DOS-None case sensitive
Maxium length 12
Maximum 8 character name limit and 3 character extension
Any characters allowed
Reserved characters 0x00-0x1F SPACE DEL " * / : < > ? \ |
Reserved word- COM2
Windows-None case sensitive
Maxium length 255
Characters not allowed " * : < > ? \ / |.
Linux- Case sensitive
Maxium length 255
Allows |\?*<":>/
OS- None case sensitive
Not allowed |\?*<":>/
Maxium length 255
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filename
DeWaun Carmichael
The Windows file naming convention is that a file name is made up of the main descriptive part of the name, then a dot followed by 3 letters after the filename. This dot + 3 letters (like “.ext”) is referred to as the file name extension. The extension is used by Windows to determine the type of data in a file, and which programs can be used to open the file. For example, when saving a word processing document, you might see boxes like those of Figure 109. Note that “.doc” appears twice, once in the name, and once to confirm that the type of data in the file is the usual “.doc”.
www.records.ncords.gov
www.computerhope.com/issues
Catherine Alexander the last comment was mine from chapter 8 starting with windows
WINDOWS - The naming conventions for windows are as follows:
No Case Sensitivity
Maximum length of file name is 255 characters to include extension.
Spaces allowed: Yes
Numbers allowed: Yes
Characters not allowed: *\:<>|"/?
File Names not allowed: Aux, Com1, Com2, Com3, Com4, Con, Lpt1, Lpt2, Lpt3, Pm, Nul
most of the following are the same general naming conventions for an individual file:Microsoft Windows, Mac OS,and Linux use a base file name and an optional extension, separated by a period. However, each file system, such as NTFS and FAT, can have specific and differing rules about the formation of the individual components in a directory or file name.
MS-DOS and 16-bit FAT file systems, file and directory names are restricted to eight characters with a three-character file extension, such as CHAPTER4.TXT. This naming convention is often referred to as the 8.3 file-naming rule or the standard MS-DOS file-naming rule. Because of it, when you work with files at the Command prompt you may have problems accessing files and directories.
Is not case sensitive because it is the same OS that microsoft windows (older versions) were built on.
howstuffworks.com
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