28 Aug
2006
28 Aug
'06
10 p.m.
On 8/28/2006 at 8:04 PM Don wrote:
Yes, I *know* this has been done other ways in the
past.
What I am trying to figure out is the rationale behind
why it has (apparently) migrated into the file *name*.
Unix, ISIS, CP/M MS-DOS...all have been more popular than the other
alternatives, and they strongly influence thinking. As far as I can tell,
we're still in a state of devolution.
I can go you one better and ask why is there no system record management
facility that standardizes file structure? Heaven knows, mainframes had
such a notion. But "modern" (read: microcomputer) operating systems tread
files as amorphous blobs. You want to structure a file some way, it's up
to you and no business of the operating system--that, aside from certain
program file structures doesn't care. A binary file displays garbage in a
text editor? Who cares? The operating system certainly didn't tell you
that "you don't want to do that".
One sees this in data conversion frequently. You have a file, generated by
some long-forgotten application with no obvious structure--just lots of
bits. Now, figure out what it means....
Cheers,
Chuck