Universal filename translation system (was: building a PDP11...)

Hmmm... my only concern about compatibility would be that files could be transferred to and from other systems, and that ASCII could be used to make the exchange of e-mail, Usenet news, etc. possible. I won't mention a desire for TCP/IP, as, perhaps someone might come up with an idea (as someone may already have done in the past) for superior networking. Regarding file transfers, perhaps a UFUTS filename universal translation system (UFUTS) could be used so that u don't spend too much time futzing with file names after copying them; that is, so no one would have to spend time STUFUing over filenames after copying them. While kermit often does a reasonable job, there can be problems when multiple files have to be translated, and when copied back to the original system from another system that, let's say, supports fewer filename characters, etc., the name will not be what it originally was. So, perhaps each system could contain a translated filenames database that also contains a special datafile for each system that it exchanges files with that uses different naming standards. I guess that's still not too clear of an explanation, so, please allow me to expand upon that. Let's say that system A allows only the ASCII alphanumeric characters in filenames, but allows 1024 characters in a filename. System B allows no more than 10 characters in a filename, yet, it allows many different graphical images to be used as special characters in filenames. Now them, let's suppose that system A knows about the special characters used with system B, and system B knows about the lengthy filenames used with system A, for the following reason: When the file transfer first began, systems A and B checked to see if the UFUTS database contained a special datafile for the others system/OS type. If that file didn't exist on either system, then it would be transfered to the system, or systems, needing it, prior to the transfer of the file, or files, that need to be transfered. The above is, perhaps, a great oversimplification of my idea, however, using this basic sort of technique, files could hypothetically be transferred from system to system, and, when transferred back to the system of the type on which they originated, the file names would automagically become the original filenames that they started out life as. This may be of particular use to users of classic systems who want to archive and preserve many different types of files on a live filesystem for safe-keeping over the years, as well as of interest to those using emulators. After someone mentioned PERQs, this idea came to me after I began thinking about problems that I had when attempting to transfer large numbers of PERQ files to a UNIX system via kermit. Also, if this file translation and transfer mechanism could also recurse directories, and transfer the knowledge of the directory structures between the systems, as it would with the filename format information, it could be even more useful, allowing for entire hard disks to be archived on other "non-compatible" systems. What are the thoughts of others regarding this idea and UFUTS? -- Copyright (C) 2001 R. D. Davis "Golf course" properly defined: a horrid All Rights Reserved misuse of good pasture and farm land often rdd(a)rddavis.net 410-744-4900 perpetuated by those who are capable of http://www.rddavis.net neither farming nor riding.