Long and Short of It -- James Weissman <james@aimnet.com> notes that many systems that can't support long filenames are able to use mapping - a table of the short names and the longer ones they correspond to - to provide nicer looking URLs.

EnterpriseWeb/VM is a Web server that runs under the IBM VM/CMS mainframe operating system where file identifiers can have an 8 character name and 8 character type. However, using an "alias map," EnterpriseWeb permits 8-by-8 named objects (files) to be referenced with an arbitrary length name. This is somewhat analogous to how Win95 actually stores a eight-dot-three name (LONGFI~1.NAM) for a long file name (LONGFILE.NAME).

<http://www.beyond-software.com/>

The best indicator of the host Web server operating system can be had by examining the server headers "Server", "Version", and/or "SERVER_SOFTWARE_LIST" in the HTTP response. Some Web browsers allow you to view the returned headers. If yours doesn't, you can use utility software to see the headers. One such program, free from DBU Consulting, is called "What's Running" and a Win95 version can be downloaded at:

<http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/ 4542/whats.html>