[Radiance-dev] Re: data test dir (spaces in dirname)

[Peter Apian-Bennewitz]

Georg Mischler wrote:

>Peter Apian-Bennewitz wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Hi folks,
>>
>>having fixed a mior bug with the generator of the HEAD zip file (due to
>>the fact that zip doesn't erase previous content), I found the path
>>    ray/test/test data/histo.dat
>>Are you sure you the blank in it is a good thing ? An underscore would
>>be as feasable, IMHO, and makes life of shell users so much easier. Even
>>if the original authors of the test scenes prefer a different parser.
>>    
>>
>
>
>I used a space there very intentionally.  We need to make sure
>that Radiance handles this case (among othes) correctly, which
>is, after all, the sole purpose of the test directory tree.
>
>This is again in preparation for the Windows port. Other than on
>unix, Windows users will uses space characters in file and
>directory names without thinking about it. And even some system
>directories are named that way (depending on the language).
>Whatever we do, we just need to assume that there can be space
>characters. Any program or script that fails to function
>correctly under those circumstances is to be considered broken.
>
>Sorry for any extra work that might cause for your auxiliary
>scripting, but I don't see a good way around it.
>
>
>-schorsch
>
>  
>
You don't cause me worry, but others will be bothered.
Windows breaks on half-a-dozen characters which are perfectly handled by 
UNIX shells.  Some backup programs (take HP's Omniback as an example) 
fail on some of these too. Shells treat spaces as default delimiters. 
It's all stupid, but it is a fact. That's why there's a somewhat 
friendly common sense not to use characters which cause problems on 
other systems (like space, double colon, ambersands, etc) volantarily. 
If you insist on a space in a directory name of a general test scenario 
and declare the whole directory, which serves others purposes, a test 
case for filename handling, that's fine, but a little pointless IMHO.

-Peter

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