Re: [Mingw-users] Mount points

[Keith M. <kei...@us...>]

On Thursday 04 March 2010 14:45:13 Earnie wrote:
> Vincent Richomme wrote:
> > On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0500,
> > Earnie<ea...@us...>
> >
> > wrote:
> >> I doubt that it was reasoned, more coincidence but check the
> >> source code.  I know you're asking about UX issues due to
> >> inconsistency of text.  If it is a really big deal, open an
> >> issue to be tracked.
> >
> > Ok let's say you buy a car and half the seats are made with
> > leather and the other ones are made in cheap plastic...

Not a particularly useful analogy, IMO; more useful perhaps, to 
consider the case where the window winders in the front are fitted 
with electric actuators, while those in the rear have hand cranks;
(which is precisely the case in both my own and my wife's cars).

> > Either you choose one convention or the other one but mixing
> > both is stupid

Why?  MS-Windows' I/O subsystem considers both to be equivalent, 
with '\' as the preferred user visible standard; thus, all MS API 
functions which manipulate and return path names will use '\'.  
However, '\' is also an escape in many contexts, and in those it may 
be more appropriate to write '/' in preference to '\\'.  It isn't at 
all unlikely that an application may have to handle both forms.  Of 
course, it should always be possible to transliterate to a common 
form, but the overhead may outweigh the benefit.

> > (I know this is always the same thing : historical reason but I
> > dont' live in past)

It isn't simply historical; it is more a case of no one being 
sufficiently motivated to address something, which for the majority 
is a non-issue.

> > So finally I solved my issue with clang by creating a
> > msyspath.exe that replace \ by / when called with a path.

So, you have a solution which works for you; why continue to gripe 
about it?

> Based on your analogy I suggest that you stick to using Windows on
> Windows and Unix on Unix.  MSYS had one simple goal.  The goal was
> met but MSYS became useful beyond the goal that was set.  If you
> have a problem that \ and / are both directory separators in
> different venues but those venues are pieced together by MSYS then
> like I said already, file an issue that can be tracked.

And in this case, if you feel so strongly about it, the appropriate 
tracking venue would be our patch tracker, where you submit *your* 
patches for consideration.

-- 
Regards,
Keith.