Mail Archives: djgpp/2000/02/27/04:19:46
On Fri, 25 Feb 2000, Campbell, Rolf [SKY:1U32:EXCH] wrote:
> Make 2 files, on named "a.cpp" and another named "a.cpp~" (I was using emacs
> when I discovered this), the SFN's for these files will likely be "a.cpp" and
> "a~1.cpp". Now try copying both files to another directory. There is a 50%
> chance that one of the files will dissapear!
Yep, a known misfeature in Windows' half-hearted implementation of
long file names. But what alternative does one have if one wants a
dual-boot DOS/Windows system? AFAIK, there is no alternative. If you
could turne the numeric tails off, you probably don't need a dual
system, in which case you shouldn't be turning them on in the first
place.
(How frequently do you copy directories *and* care about backups on
top of that, anyway?)
As an aside, if you use Emacs on Windows 9X, turn on numeric backups,
and you will never see such problems, even with numeric tails turned
off. Using numeric backups is a good idea anyway.
In any case, if you care about the backup files (that's the only ones
which can disappear), you should always use "cp -b" (and for a good
measure, add "-V numbered" as well), since Windows is full of such
atrocities even without the numeric tails issue: the file-name
letter-case can easily get you into similar trouble.
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