How are long file names implemented on HFS+/OSX?
Is it a kludge of sorts, as I understand long file names under Windows95 were? (where some database somewhere kept track of the long ones while under the hood the filenames actually seen by the OS were LONGFI~1.EXT or LONGFI~2.EXT or something like that? and you could "lose" the long filenames?)
I assume that WHERE the long file names are implemented has to be in the filing system, HFS+, on the storage medium itself. That doesn't directly address whether or not it is a kludge though, I guess.
At any rate, if the storage medium itself has the textstring that constitutes the long file name whether in the old location used by older operating systems that use HFS+ or in a new field with the old field holding a truncated version why would there not be a simple system extension for those older operating systems that would enable them to display the long file names?
Do files copied from one volume to another under MacOS 8 or 9 (which display an abbreviated filename) retain their long file names if you mount the destination volume in OS X later, or do the older operating systems, ignorant of the filename string contents beyond 32 characters, simply dub the newly-copied file with only as much of the filename as they can natively perceive?
I can see where an OS9ish extension that would properly inform all applications about long file names would be complicated and would break lots of apps, but if you were only interested in getting the Finder to play along it doesn't seem like such a formidable task. And yet I'm unaware of any such system extension.
Obviously I would not expect to see one now (not much call for OS 9 stuff these days), so this is more out of curiosity than compelling need (though I would have a use for it to be sure).
Is it a kludge of sorts, as I understand long file names under Windows95 were? (where some database somewhere kept track of the long ones while under the hood the filenames actually seen by the OS were LONGFI~1.EXT or LONGFI~2.EXT or something like that? and you could "lose" the long filenames?)
I assume that WHERE the long file names are implemented has to be in the filing system, HFS+, on the storage medium itself. That doesn't directly address whether or not it is a kludge though, I guess.
At any rate, if the storage medium itself has the textstring that constitutes the long file name whether in the old location used by older operating systems that use HFS+ or in a new field with the old field holding a truncated version why would there not be a simple system extension for those older operating systems that would enable them to display the long file names?
Do files copied from one volume to another under MacOS 8 or 9 (which display an abbreviated filename) retain their long file names if you mount the destination volume in OS X later, or do the older operating systems, ignorant of the filename string contents beyond 32 characters, simply dub the newly-copied file with only as much of the filename as they can natively perceive?
I can see where an OS9ish extension that would properly inform all applications about long file names would be complicated and would break lots of apps, but if you were only interested in getting the Finder to play along it doesn't seem like such a formidable task. And yet I'm unaware of any such system extension.
Obviously I would not expect to see one now (not much call for OS 9 stuff these days), so this is more out of curiosity than compelling need (though I would have a use for it to be sure).
