File Name Management

File names present a host of problems for a program like FunnelWeb. First, FunnelWeb can generate so many different kinds of files that conventions must be adopted to prevent them from becoming unmanageable. Second, the constraints on file names, and even the structure of file names themselves varies considerably from machine to machine. These two problems have combined to result in the sophisticated and rather complicated way in which FunnelWeb V3 handles filenames.

To summarize, the three problems are:

  1. What filename extensions should be chosen for various kinds of file?
  2. What filename inheritance should take place?
  3. How should FunnelWeb cope with the variations in filename structure between machines?

The following three sections address these questions.



Subsections