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long filepaths & names - potential headache?

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 6:11 am
by makeshyft
Hello friends,

My app is coming along great, I am writing file operation functions.

My plan was to use filenames and folder names to help me get information more quickly, and so I am using relevant ID numbers to name them. My ID numbers are UUIDs.

My concern is whether I can possibly run into problems with the length of my absolute paths being too long to complete file operations. So far my tests have been successful on windows, and everything works fine.


an example length is

"c:/Documents and Settings/My Documents/UMP Data/LU-73310424-5960-4460-8c53-b7d9a535af3e/syncfiles/SF-73310424-5960-4460-8c53-b7d9a535af3e.ump"

Thats only 143 characters. The minnimum limit is 255 right?

These files may also be present in a network environment, so the absolute paths might get even longer....

Should I go ahead? or do something different?

I'm creating standalones for windows, osx universal, linux.

Thanks a million.

Re: long filepaths & names - potential headache?

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 7:02 am
by shaosean
I think you mean "maximum" limit of 255 ;-)

Not certain if any of the other platforms (except maybe Mac OS Classic) has a limit to the length of the file path, but at least on Windows you can use the shortFilePath function..

For an exciting read
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison ... ems#Limits

Re: long filepaths & names - potential headache?

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:21 pm
by makeshyft
Hey Sean,

thanks for answering .... I actually did mean "minimum limit" thinking that IF THERE IS A LIMIT its at least 255. The filenames are not long.... but the absolute paths inside livecode might be...depending on where the user decides to store their data.

I did end up on that Wikipedia page too..... mind boggling read. ;)

Thanks,

Tom