SBBS4Linux compatibility
From
Digital Man@VERT to
All on Wed Nov 8 05:39:30 2000
Actually, I anticipate other Unix-like os flavors of Synchronet too, so thisãpost doesn't just apply to Synchronet for Linux.ããOne of major incompatibilties I've come across in porting Synchronet to aãUnix-like OS (Linux) is file/directory name case sensitivity and use ofãbackslash as the path delimiter.ããThese "incompatibilities" existed both in the Synchronet C/C++ source code asãwell as the various command shells and loadable modules (EXEC/*.src) includedãwith Synchronet.ããIn the C/C++ source code, I've switched to using lowercase path and filenamesãonly and slashes (instead of backslahses) as path delimiters. These areãbackwards compatible with DOSish file systems (e.g. FAT16/32, HPFS, NTFS). I'veãalso had to go through the command shells and change backslashes to forwardãslashes and convert path and filenames to lowercase.ããWhile it is not strictly necessary to convert path and filenames to lowercaseã(as long as they were specified with a consistent case), uppercase filenamesãon Unix file systems typically denote special files, and are discouraged forãgeneral use (as well as being considered "ugly"). Rather than trying to createãa "strategy" of which filenames should be uppercase and which should be ãlowercase (or even mixed case), I've generally just converted (almost)ãEVERYTHING to lowercase. Compatibility with DOSemu file systems hasn't beenãdetermined, so drop files for DOS doors (for example), may need to be createdãin upper case.ããIt is however, REQUIRED that forward slashes be used in paths instead ofãbackslashes. And lucky for us, Microsoft has always maintained Unix-style slashãcompatibility at the system level, so there will be no incompatibilities withãDOSish file systems when forward slashes are used.ããSo, basically, this is a heads-up to Baja programmers (and door programmers forãthat matter), using consistently lowercase paths and filenames and forwardãslashes as path delimiters in your modules and programs will allow them to beãcompatible with BOTH DOS-based and Unix-based platforms.ããRobã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã