D&C Lug - Home Page
Devon & Cornwall Linux Users' Group

[ Date Index ][ Thread Index ]
[ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

[LUG] Filename / Directory Names with Spaces in was: LUG Stuff...




Clive Darke said:

Just a small thing I would like to correct.
"Linux does not like spaces in folder names" is not true, although many
scripts are badly written and cannot handle imbedded spaces in file or
directory (folder) names.  If you want imbedded spaces in a name, just
surround it in quotes (either ' or " will do).

While this is all true I would personally discourage the use of spaces in
file and directory (folder) names. Although spaces on a fixed font command
line are very easy to see, they are a lot harder to identify in a
proportional font. IMO at best it doesnt aid the programming or scripting
process  and at worst it is a hinderance. By convention spaces have been
used as delimiters for words and parameters in most natural languages,
programming languages and command line interfaces, almost universally. Much
that I hate to bate Microsoft ;-) I curse the day that it unilaterally
decided that spaces in filenames would be a neat idea.

Of course once Microsoft sneezed the rest of the IT world had to catch a
cold. Yes Ok it may look good to an end user, but as a programmer  /
scripter it has caused no end of problems. And yes agreed a good scripter /
programmer should be able to face these challenges, but they are not
challenges for the common good, rather they are distractions that hamper
real progress.

Please, please, please, please, please avoid using spaces in file and
directory names.

Tom.

(who is being unusually polite today).

Information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged.
It is the intended solely for the person ( or persons) to whom it is
addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender,
and please delete the message from your system immediately. The views in
this message are personal, they are not necessarily those of Torbay Council



--
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the
message body to unsubscribe.



Lynx friendly