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A Question

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved System Admin
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  • R Offline
    R Offline
    Rane
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    IN MS-OPERATING SYSTEM, "A FILE CANNOT BE RENAMED (OR) NAMED AS 'CON'(WITHOUT SINGLE QUOTES)".WHY IS IT SO???? PLEASE CLEAR MY DOUBT. :)

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    • R Rane

      IN MS-OPERATING SYSTEM, "A FILE CANNOT BE RENAMED (OR) NAMED AS 'CON'(WITHOUT SINGLE QUOTES)".WHY IS IT SO???? PLEASE CLEAR MY DOUBT. :)

      R Offline
      R Offline
      Roger Wright
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      CON is a reserved device in all DOS-based systems. It refers to the console device; for input, the keyboard, and the monitor for output. You cannot create a file using a reserved device name, else the system will have no idea which object you want to operate on. "Some people are like Slinkies... not really good for anything,
      but you still can't help but smile when you see one
      tumble down the stairs."

      A B 2 Replies Last reply
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      • R Rane

        IN MS-OPERATING SYSTEM, "A FILE CANNOT BE RENAMED (OR) NAMED AS 'CON'(WITHOUT SINGLE QUOTES)".WHY IS IT SO???? PLEASE CLEAR MY DOUBT. :)

        M Offline
        M Offline
        Matt Newman
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Thats kind of cool, weird, but cool Matt Newman
        Sonork: 100:11179 "If you're Noah and you're facing the Flood, don't call a lawyer, start building an Ark." - David Cunningham

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        • R Roger Wright

          CON is a reserved device in all DOS-based systems. It refers to the console device; for input, the keyboard, and the monitor for output. You cannot create a file using a reserved device name, else the system will have no idea which object you want to operate on. "Some people are like Slinkies... not really good for anything,
          but you still can't help but smile when you see one
          tumble down the stairs."

          A Offline
          A Offline
          Atlantys
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          :omg: The "Fountain of Knowledge" speaks. :-D I want you on my "Trivial Pursuit" team. The kindest thing you can do for a stupid person, and for the gene pool, is to let him expire of his own dumb choices. [Roger Wright on stupid people] We're like private member functions [John Theal on R&D]

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          • R Rane

            IN MS-OPERATING SYSTEM, "A FILE CANNOT BE RENAMED (OR) NAMED AS 'CON'(WITHOUT SINGLE QUOTES)".WHY IS IT SO???? PLEASE CLEAR MY DOUBT. :)

            J Offline
            J Offline
            Jorgen Sigvardsson
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            Ahem. Just for future reference; typing in ALL CAPS is frowned upon. It is perceived as if you are shouting. Most of us can read lower caps, and those who can't have glasses or have adjusted their screen resolution to match their eyes. ;) -- Stukas! Stukas im Visier!

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            • R Roger Wright

              CON is a reserved device in all DOS-based systems. It refers to the console device; for input, the keyboard, and the monitor for output. You cannot create a file using a reserved device name, else the system will have no idea which object you want to operate on. "Some people are like Slinkies... not really good for anything,
              but you still can't help but smile when you see one
              tumble down the stairs."

              B Offline
              B Offline
              Blake Coverett
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              A quibble, not just DOS based systems. The NT kernel family kept this convention despite having no DOS lineage. For bonus points, there are other reserved device names that most people have forgotten: AUX - The auxilary device, usually mapped to com1, kernel debugging goes here. PRN - The default printer, usually mapped to lpt1. NUL - The null device, anything written here is throw away. These, plus CON, and the better known COM[1-9] and LPT[1-9] devices are all invalid filenames still today. More amusing, they are invalid even in combination with any file extension, i.e. naming a file aux.txt is an error as well. Anyone been around long enough to remember ox.sys or winaux.sys? -- -Blake (com/bcdev/blake)

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              • B Blake Coverett

                A quibble, not just DOS based systems. The NT kernel family kept this convention despite having no DOS lineage. For bonus points, there are other reserved device names that most people have forgotten: AUX - The auxilary device, usually mapped to com1, kernel debugging goes here. PRN - The default printer, usually mapped to lpt1. NUL - The null device, anything written here is throw away. These, plus CON, and the better known COM[1-9] and LPT[1-9] devices are all invalid filenames still today. More amusing, they are invalid even in combination with any file extension, i.e. naming a file aux.txt is an error as well. Anyone been around long enough to remember ox.sys or winaux.sys? -- -Blake (com/bcdev/blake)

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                R Offline
                Roger Wright
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                At least it's consistent.:) Blake Coverett wrote: Anyone been around long enough to remember ox.sys or winaux.sys? I've been around long enough, I'm sure, but I don't remember hearing of them before. What were they used for? "Your village called -
                They're missing their idiot."

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                • R Roger Wright

                  At least it's consistent.:) Blake Coverett wrote: Anyone been around long enough to remember ox.sys or winaux.sys? I've been around long enough, I'm sure, but I don't remember hearing of them before. What were they used for? "Your village called -
                  They're missing their idiot."

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                  B Offline
                  Blake Coverett
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  They were little DOS device drivers used in Win16 coding days to hook the AUX output and write it to the block of memory at 0xB000 that represented a mono monitor. All serious Win16 programming setups had both a VGA monitor and a mono monitor attached, so your debug output and the old CodeView debugger could run on the mono monitor. -- -Blake (com/bcdev/blake)

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