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| In lugnet.cad.dev.org.ldraw, Jim DeVona wrote:
> The 1.0 LDraw File Format specification itself is silent on the matter of line
> endings, but indeed the "File Format Restrictions for Official Parts" requires
> DOS line endings (http://ldraw.org/Article512.html#termination).
So, because I am a geek, and because I was curious about the practical reasons
for the DOS line ending requirement, I conducted a relatively comprehensive
compatibility inventory.
http://anoved.net/2010/01/ldraw-line-endings/
Of nearly twenty programs tested (see the post for repetitive screenshots), only
James J's LDRAW and LEDIT (and perhaps LDAO, although I didn't test it) actually
rely on DOS line endings. The rest, running on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux,
were all capable of loading a model formatted with Unix line endings.
My conclusion is essentially that this is as it should be - we have a format
that preserves compatibility with older components, and tools that are robust
enough to understand reasonable exceptions to the format.
Also, wow - as I started collecting screenshots and trying out less familiar
programs, it became evident just how much interesting LDraw software there is. I
think this is great news for the community, and something for the developers
(and the Jessimans) to be proud of.
Jim
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| In lugnet.cad.dev.org.ldraw, Jim DeVona wrote:
> In lugnet.cad.dev.org.ldraw, Jim DeVona wrote:
>
> > The 1.0 LDraw File Format specification itself is silent on the matter of line
> > endings, but indeed the "File Format Restrictions for Official Parts" requires
> > DOS line endings (http://ldraw.org/Article512.html#termination).
>
> So, because I am a geek, and because I was curious about the practical reasons
> for the DOS line ending requirement, I conducted a relatively comprehensive
> compatibility inventory.
>
> http://anoved.net/2010/01/ldraw-line-endings/
>
> Of nearly twenty programs tested (see the post for repetitive screenshots), only
> James J's LDRAW and LEDIT (and perhaps LDAO, although I didn't test it) actually
> rely on DOS line endings. The rest, running on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux,
> were all capable of loading a model formatted with Unix line endings.
>
> My conclusion is essentially that this is as it should be - we have a format
> that preserves compatibility with older components, and tools that are robust
> enough to understand reasonable exceptions to the format.
>
> Also, wow - as I started collecting screenshots and trying out less familiar
> programs, it became evident just how much interesting LDraw software there is. I
> think this is great news for the community, and something for the developers
> (and the Jessimans) to be proud of.
>
> Jim
Yes, what a fantastic collection of software we have, and all for free!
After trying some alternatives, I have returned to use Windows Notepad as my
LDraw file editor. The alternatives all had their advantages, but for various
reasons I wasn't quite comfortable with any of them.
No previous version and not even XP's Notepad handles Unix LF's correctly. But
since I found out the quick and easy WordPad method I mentioned a couple of days
ago, it's a very little problem to me now. So personally, I could live with the
CRLF requirement being dropped, it's not that big a deal anytime, but I'm
thankful that it hasn't been done yet.
/Tore
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | In lugnet.cad.dev.org.ldraw, Jim DeVona wrote:
> So, because I am a geek, and because I was curious about the practical reasons
> for the DOS line ending requirement, I conducted a relatively comprehensive
> compatibility inventory.
>
> http://anoved.net/2010/01/ldraw-line-endings/
Sweet! It's pretty cool just to see the list of screenshots. Thanks for
putting that together, it was a neat read.
> My conclusion is essentially that this is as it should be - we have a format
> that preserves compatibility with older components, and tools that are robust
> enough to understand reasonable exceptions to the format.
Exactly.
> Also, wow - as I started collecting screenshots and trying out less familiar
> programs, it became evident just how much interesting LDraw software there is. I
> think this is great news for the community, and something for the developers
> (and the Jessimans) to be proud of.
:)
Steve
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