Subject:
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Re: LDraw File Format Spec 1.0 DRAFT - Call for Public Comments
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.cad
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Date:
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Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:11:39 GMT
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Viewed:
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5317 times
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In lugnet.cad, Travis Cobbs wrote:
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While at it, please disallow spaces in filenames in line type 1.
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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.
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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.
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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 much frozen the
specification should probably just codify whatever it accepts. It’s
not what I’d have implemented, but it’ll do.
I believe MLCad uses everything from the the first non-whitepace
character to the end of the line, where whitespace characters are
space, tab, CR, and LF. I can’t remember if it truncates the name at
the last non-whitespace character, or if it includes trailing
whitespace. I’m pretty sure quotes are included in the filename by
MLCad, so you can’t use them to enclose a filename with leading (or
trailing) whitespace. I don’t know if MLCad has different (more
relaxed) rules for the top level main model filename. I do know that
some other programs do this, because either the command line or the
file browser is more generous with the filenames.
Perhaps someone in the LSC could run some tests and get it down
exactly so we could finally end this debate. Or would that force
the specs to be punted off to the next LSC? ;-)
Have fun,
Don
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