NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/comp/os/os2/misc/41211

Text File | 1993-01-05 | 1.9 KB | 36 lines

Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
Path: sparky!uunet!email!news
From: [e-mail] (Peter Wansch)
Subject: WORKPLACE SHELL INCONSISTENCY
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail]
Nntp-Posting-Host: swwwnext.tuwien.ac.at
Organization: Technical University of Vienna
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 13:45:59 GMT
Lines: 24

I recently found one inconsistency in the Workplace Shell concept that is
very confusing and I personally think that IBM should change that. Data
objects and folder objects have a physical representation on the hard
disk, while program objects and device objects are only references to
either an executable file or whatever. Deleting a data object by dragging
it to the shredder has therefore the same effect as typing DEL on the
command line. The same applies for moving or copying data objects or
folders. That means you always manipulate a file or a directory when
working with data objects or folders. Hence I thought that changing the
name of a data object in the WPS would have the same effect like REN,
since the data object is in fact the physical file. What amazed me, was
that only the title but not the real name was changed, whereas when I
changed the name of a folder, the corresponding directory is renamed. I m
well aware that the WPS has to deal with both FAT and HPFS which imposes
additional constraints, but I think that since folders are directories and
data objects are files their title and real name ought to be identical. I
know that this has always caused a lot of confusion for new WPS users and
I can t see a reason why this has to be that way. It would be so simple to
allow only names to be entered (when renaming a data object or a folder)
that comply with the naming conventions of the file system used.
If you have any comments on this I would appreciate your mail.
Peter Wansch
Vienna University of Technology
e-mail [e-mail]