MS Teams channels cannot contain MS-DOS device names

Post by gnosek » Thu, Aug 10, 2023, 8:41 PM UTC

xp84 wrote: post #218

dharmab wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Something Terrible in this case is early DOS which did not have separate folders. So the device files were in the same namespace as the user's files, so the user couldn't name a file CON or LPT1. These are preserved for backwards compatibility. To this day you can write a program that writes to a CON file in any folder, and the program will print the write to console.

Another interesting aspect of this, which I remember specifically from reading MS-DOS manuals in the 90s as a kid (I was an incredibly fun 12 year old) is that this choice was an intentional one done in the name of flexibility. These device names were correctly written with a colon, but you are allowed to omit the colons. For instance: copy con lpt1 And copy con: lpt1: were interchangeable. If they’d chosen to not sa…

Post by timcambrant » Thu, Aug 10, 2023, 9:02 PM UTC

Q6T46nT668w6i3m wrote: post #198

saalweachter wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arch wasn't around in 1998. I'm going to put my money on Slackware.

I’d bet RedHat 5.2.

Post by saghm » Thu, Aug 10, 2023, 9:08 PM UTC

cogman10 wrote: post #206

code_runner wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

love this story very much. I had no idea WINE had been around for that long and was able to play starcraft etc. I have really great memories of playing starcraft with friends back in the day.... that game had enough staying power that we could all get into and out of in middle school and then again in college!

Wine is nearly as old as linux. First released in 1993. I had some awkward conversations with my parents as a teenage nerd looking into "winehq". They didn't believe me that it had nothing to do with alcohol.

Post by red_hare » Thu, Aug 10, 2023, 9:20 PM UTC

  if(version.StartsWith(“Windows 9”)) {
    /* 95 and 98 */
    ...
  }

Post by fantyoon » Thu, Aug 10, 2023, 9:24 PM UTC

red_hare wrote: post #267

Reminds me of the rumor that the reason it went "Windows 7", "8", "10" and skipped "9" is because the fear of a codebase that went: if(version.StartsWith(“Windows 9”)) { /* 95 and 98 */ ... }