The rules for the syntax of file names discussed in File Names,
are the rules normally used by the GNU system and by other POSIX
systems. However, other operating systems may use other conventions.
There are two reasons why it can be important for you to be aware of
file name portability issues:
If your program makes assumptions about file name syntax, or contains
embedded literal file name strings, it is more difficult to get it to
run under other operating systems that use different syntax conventions.
Even if you are not concerned about running your program on machines
that run other operating systems, it may still be possible to access
files that use different naming conventions. For example, you may be
able to access file systems on another computer running a different
operating system over a network, or read and write disks in formats used
by other operating systems.
The ISO C standard says very little about file name syntax, only that
file names are strings. In addition to varying restrictions on the
length of file names and what characters can validly appear in a file
name, different operating systems use different conventions and syntax
for concepts such as structured directories and file types or
extensions. Some concepts such as file versions might be supported in
some operating systems and not by others.
The POSIX.1 standard allows implementations to put additional
restrictions on file name syntax, concerning what characters are
permitted in file names and on the length of file name and file name
component strings. However, in the GNU system, you do not need to worry
about these restrictions; any character except the null character is
permitted in a file name string, and there are no limits on the length
of file name strings.
Published under the terms of the GNU General Public License
