Date   : Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:01:55 GMT
From   : jgh@... (J.G.Harston)
Subject: Spitting expletives

Rick Murray wrote:
> On 27/07/2010 01:33, Pete Turnbull wrote:
> >> .bas is the standard extension for textual representation of BASIC (*any*
> >> BASIC) code. If some application decide to stupidly associate themselves
> >> with it and try to execute it, that's their stupid fault.
> 
> > I'm with Jonathan.  .bas is the accepted extension for all sorts of
> > BASIC files, and using something else is only going to cause confusion
> > elsewhere.
> 
> This is, however, a bit like saying that double-clicking &FFF
> files under RISC OS should not open it in !Edit (system default)

No, what your setup has done is like double-clicking on a &FFF file
and having *BASIC* run it.  ".bas" is *A* *TEXT* *FILE* containing
a textual representation of a Basic, any Basic, program text.

".bbc" is tokenised BBC BASIC stored in Russell format (line
length, num lo, num hi...), RISC OS filetype &1C7, "Basic8".
"." is tokenised BBC BASIC stored in Acorn/Wilson format (<cr>, num
hi, num l, line length...), RISC OS filetype &FFB, "BASIC".
".bas" is textual representation of any type of Basic program, RISC
OS filetype &FFF "Text".

> On the other hand, there is a lurking Epic Fail in blindly assuming that
> .bas means a BASIC file. True, it does, but when you get to the bits and

A filetype should only be used to determine what should be done
with a file in the absence of any other information - such as the
instruction to load it into a specific application.

-- 
J.G.Harston - jgh@...      - mdfs.net/jgh
In 1939 $50 of groceries would fill three station wagons. Today I
can lift $50 of groceries with one hand. I must have got stronger.