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Subject:	Re: LDraw File Format Spec 1.0 DRAFT - Call for Public Comments
Newsgroups:	lugnet.cad
Date:	Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:39:29 GMT
Viewed:	5274 times

In lugnet.cad, Travis Cobbs wrote:

While at it, please disallow spaces in filenames in line type 1.

This is why so many novice computer users think that computers are hard to use. Developers make arbitrary (and totally unnecessary) restrictions like this, and then don’t understand when the users complain. They tell the users that they are wrong. Well, I’m here to tell you, spaces in filenames are a fact of life, and not supporting them in your software is bad. Disallowing them in a general file spec like this is, in my opinion, totally unconscionable.

I thought I’d add a clarification to the above. A quick look at LDView’s Change History file will show that I only added support for spaces in submodel filenames in version 3.0. Furthermore, I listed it as an addition, not a bug fix, and LDView even spits out a warning when it finds such filenames.

I perfectly well understand that many programs don’t support this, and I’m not saying that those programs are broken. What I am saying it that it’s not appropriate to say in the spec that spaces aren’t allowed in filenames. And furthermore, I think that supporting spaces in filenames is a feature that programs should have going forward (which is what this spec is all about). Users should be able to use them and they should work. The main reason for having them be discouraged (as they are in the spec) is because many programs don’t support them.

--Travis

Message has 3 Replies:

		Re: LDraw File Format Spec 1.0 DRAFT - Call for Public Comments
(...) My issue with spaces is not with programs supporting them or not, it's that the elements inside a line are delimited by spaces, you have 1 <space> color <space> x <space> ... <part> but then when it comes to file names that rule is broken. I (...) (17 years ago, 22-Aug-07, to lugnet.cad)

		Re: LDraw File Format Spec 1.0 DRAFT - Call for Public Comments
(...) Ok, the whitespace debate has gone on long enough. It's been years now! Someone in the LSC needs to step up and really define what's an acceptable filename, whitespace and all. Personally I think since MLCad is established, popular, and pretty (...) (17 years ago, 23-Aug-07, to lugnet.cad, FTX)

		Re: LDraw File Format Spec 1.0 DRAFT - Call for Public Comments
(...) Travis, I have had to add support for blanks in LPub, because so many kids expect to be able to use them. Unfortunatly, kids won't read the spec, they will just do what comes naturally. I'm an old goat, so I'm personally not a fan of blanks (...) (17 years ago, 28-Aug-07, to lugnet.cad, FTX)

Message is in Reply To:

		Re: LDraw File Format Spec 1.0 DRAFT - Call for Public Comments
(...) I think we'll just include two examples of how the data would go into a matrix in the two different directions and leave it at that. At this point, I think the best thing would be to add something like the following to the currently proposed (...) (17 years ago, 22-Aug-07, to lugnet.cad)

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