Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!news.redatomik.org!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed7.news.xs4all.nl!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.003 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.99; '*S*': 0.00; 'prefix': 0.07; 'subject:file': 0.07; 'prepended': 0.09; 'cc:addr:python-list': 0.10; 'python': 0.11; 'syntax': 0.13; 'thu,': 0.15; '"."': 0.16; 'from:addr:rosuav': 0.16; 'from:name:chris angelico': 0.16; 'hmm.': 0.16; 'length:': 0.16; 'something.': 0.16; 'somewhere.': 0.16; 'subject:windows': 0.16; 'wrote:': 0.16; 'first.': 0.18; 'mechanism': 0.18; 'windows': 0.20; 'tracker': 0.20; 'cc:2**0': 0.21; 'cc:addr:python.org': 0.21; 'parsing': 0.22; 'suppose': 0.22; '2015': 0.23; 'passing': 0.23; 'header:In-Reply-To:1': 0.24; 'tim': 0.24; 'message-id:@mail.gmail.com': 0.28; "doesn't": 0.28; 'allows': 0.30; 'becomes': 0.31; 'relative': 0.31; 'extend': 0.31; 'file': 0.34; 'received:google.com': 0.34; 'could': 0.35; 'path': 0.35; 'something': 0.35; 'really': 0.35; 'there': 0.36; 'subject:: ': 0.37; 'means': 0.39; 'pm,': 0.39; 'enough': 0.39; 'simple': 0.61; 'real': 0.61; 'times': 0.61; 'chrisa': 0.84; 'handing': 0.84; 'imagine,': 0.84; 'to:none': 0.90 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:cc :content-type; bh=h95Fv5Rm4rp5L3O3zRLiLiaHIEwdY0WhuOxJj/8CgCE=; b=GpyfR3WyS22EbXsnIqH0bpZSO0NhlqZK28hN4wvjOqwd0/GtGuKUmC6sGSg6PgBEln LZMTIp/b7uSx1VCAWdjH0beZ1i98tUwfKg41fEiVTMshNXrnlsP9e0UHIasP6ew8YNcS de4YsN7b/GTHHU4MualNVncUEcrVfvFzYrtUt0A/zzFiMb9+FxsCdbhAyockbHcxp9+9 OjCklV/H/Ts0PWEZUNoz0HSf5mq8GRCNil5fk/VePiOwPsooC/YnqMJgjd54BtBVP/Rr qIzR9ONdmVPYEKDkuCyoS0UYyQwOvwqdxWRjs47q8FPuZXyrt8Yah+D2a6nn78EZ9oEJ a6Ng== MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Received: by 10.42.43.199 with SMTP id y7mr5429967ice.12.1435227796559; Thu, 25 Jun 2015 03:23:16 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <558BD386.8030207@timgolden.me.uk> References: <558bc6f1$0$11104$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com> <558BD386.8030207@timgolden.me.uk> Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2015 20:23:16 +1000 Subject: Re: windows and file names > 256 bytes From: Chris Angelico Cc: "python-list@python.org" Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.20+ Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 23 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1435227798 news.xs4all.nl 2953 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:41219 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:93132 On Thu, Jun 25, 2015 at 8:10 PM, Tim Golden wrote: >> Are there any times when you *don't* want Windows to use the >> extended-length path? > > Yes: when you're passing a relative filepath. Which could pretty much be > any time. As you might imagine, this has come up before -- there's an > issue on the tracker for it somewhere. I just don't think it's simple > enough for Python to know when and when not to use the extended path > syntax without danger of breaking something. Oh blah. So I suppose that means there's fundamentally no way to use a long (>256 byte) relative path on Windows? > Bear in mind that the \\?\ prefix doesn't just extend the length: it > also allows otherwise special-cased characters such as "." or "..". It's > a general-purpose mechanism for handing something straight to the file > system without parsing it first. Ohh. So... hmm. So what this really means is that a path could get \\?\ prepended when, and ONLY when, it becomes absolute. Windows can be a real pest... ChrisA