Date   : Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:58:24 +0200
From   : rick@... (Rick Murray)
Subject: Spitting expletives

On 31/07/2010 16:14, J.G.Harston wrote:

> So I should go through 500M of software and rename all the BASIC
> files from name to name/basic, and change all the programs from
> CHAIN "name" to CHAIN "name/basic" ?

No, not if *YOU* do not have any need to.
========================================


> It's not broken, which is why it doesn't need fixing.

Do you not think this is a little bit selfish? I am trying to get a 
modern non-Acorn operating system to recognise and perform actions based 
upon the file extension. It is a non-perfect system, but it works, and 
it is something I have a need for - and perhaps others who wish to work 
with BBC BASIC code under Windows (where d'you think I read through a 
lot of the RISC OS source code?). Our requirements are definitely not 
the same here...


BTW, I have thrown together a small program to probe files and determine 
if they are:
   Sprites (not 100% accurate) -> .spr
   DrawFiles                   -> .drw
   BASIC                       -> .basic
   anything else               -> .txt
and I let that loose on the sources folder so Windows will quickly do 
something a little more useful than popping up messages asking me if I 
want to look online for something to open my files...

I can see another war starting - .spr or .ff9? .drw or .aff? ;-)


> I don't work this way because it's something I've decide on, but
 > because that is how the world is.

??? Really? I can take a file from my RiscPC and get it to be translated 
into text and loaded into Notepad (under XP) simply by double-clicking 
it. I could, I suppose, get it to load into Brandy or somesuch, but 
usually I want to *look* at the program, not run it. For that there's 
RedSquirrel.


 > Live with it.

I'm tempted to write something I would later regret.

So I will just say "No, I choose NOT to live with it". Perhaps you don't 
HAVE a need to view/run/whatever BBC BASIC files on your XP box. Or 
perhaps you are happy loading a program and then getting that program to 
act upon the BASIC file. This seems, to me, to be a massive step back 
into the past when every major OS (and this includes RISC OS) is set up 
to perform an action on a file simply by DOUBLE CLICKING IT. The problem 
with "." (i.e. NO extension) is that it does not permit a unique action 
to be applied to a unique type of file.


> The earth's atmosphere is 21% oxygen. Live with it.

You know, I currently apply my extensions by hand as it isn't something 
I do very often. I collect them (extensionless) into a folder, drop to 
command line, then enter:
   rename *. *.basic
and the whole lot is done at once. It's the winningest solution, far 
better than abusing the F2 key and my patience with Explorer...


Funny thing is, however, that I don't see any reason why, if I wanted to 
do this a lot more, I should rename by hand and/or risk screwing up 
previous code that might object to names like "Code/basic" when the !Run 
says it is "Code" [typed &FFB]. So what to do? Uhhhh.... Serving off 
!Samba, just associate the filetype with an extension. Bam, no big 
change and both systems are happy...


> You may rail against it, but that just how the world exists.

I am looking to come up with a way of making BBC BASIC programs be 
accessible on Windows machines. If this, the .basic extension, is not 
something you NEED... then don't. Nobody is holding a gun to your head 
saying you MUST rename your megabytes of software, or even to figure out 
how to get a .basic extension on a DOSFS that probably only supports 
three letter extensions.

Indeed, my BASIC code loader does not NEED to have any specific 
extension, it does a rudimentary test to check the file (BLwrapper.bas, 
line 257). The extension is there to tell Windows how to handle the 
file. If this is not a behaviour you are likely to need, then... just... 
don't.


Some people have requirements different to yours, that's just how the 
world exists. Live with it.

:-)


Best wishes,

Rick.

-- 
Rick Murray, eeePC901 & ADSL WiFI'd into it, all ETLAs!
BBC B: DNFS, 2 x 5.25" floppies, EPROM prog, Acorn TTX
E01S FileStore, A3000/A5000/RiscPC/various PCs/blahblah...