Re: JFS default behavior (was: UTF-8 in file systems?xfs/extfs/etc.)

[Nicolas Mailhot]

Le ven, 13/02/2004 à 02:46 -0500, Chris Siebenmann a écrit :
> You write:
> | Please put valid encoding info somewhere  [...]
> 
>  There is no place for encoding information in the Unix API;

Big surprise;)

>  you would
> have to implement a new one. Even if the kernel is informed of process
> locale when a process creates files, a new API that returns filename
> encoding alongside the file name itself is necessary. And relying on
> process locale on creation leads to undesirable results in some cases.
> 
> | [...] or declare filenames are utf-8 od utf-16 only - changing user
> | locale should not corrupt old data.
> 
>  Since not all byte sequences are valid UTF-8, this immediately means
> that some old files are inaccessible since their filenames are now
> illegal[*]. This also screws everyone who has no desire to work in
> UTF-8, and it screws everyone completely if ever UTF-8 is decided to not
> be the solution to the world's problems.

So what ?
Do you think an app that expects utf-8 filenames won't crash today when
served a byte sequence that's invalid UTF-8 ? (or an app that expects
ascii when served utf-8 oddities)

The problem exists now - putting encoding info somewhere of agreeing on
a common convention won't solve the legacy mess. What it will do is
avoid we get stuck the same way in a decade.

As long as an FS is shared by multiple apps/users agreeing on what the
filenames mean exactly should not be revolutionary. And btw I don't care
if it's UTF-8, UCS or something else. I just want a common ground so
peple and apps can communicate sanely.

Cheers,

-- 
Nicolas Mailhot

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