Newsgroup: alt.folklore.computers

In article <1991Nov23.235652.7329@ceilidh.beartrack.com> dnichols@ceilidh.beartrack.com (Don Nichols (DoN.)) writes:
>In article <Md=2k3e00Vs38Pamkm@andrew.cmu.edu> jn11+@andrew.cmu.edu (Joseph M. Newcomer) writes:
>>Microsoft still suffers from terminal floppydiskism.  If you specify a
>>file to many Windows applications, instead of simply reporting "file not
>>found" it requests that you put a disk in the A: drive. 
>>[...]
>	Would you believe that there IS a reason for this?  First off, one
[...]
>3)	You do all your (classified) work on floppys and ram-disk, and all
>	permanent saves on floppys.  The hard disk serves for program and
>	font-file storage, NEVER for classified data.

So what happens to the hard disk-based swap file that is used by Windows
when running in 386 enhanced mode?  Doesn't that contain classified data?
I find the floppy-disk-used-for-classified-data idea very hard to believe.  

Anyway, the real reason for the prompt is that the openFile function of
Microsoft Windows 3.00 searches for the file to be opened in:

	- The current directory,
	- in the Windows SYSTEM directory,
	- all the directories found in the path variable,
	- in drive A: after a suitable prompt.

>From the way it works it is obvious that it should not be used for opening
user data files, but only program related files (drivers, special libraries,
pictures, macros etc.)  Programs that use this function for opening user
data files are IMO broken.  (Using this function for program related files,
can also be avoided, by having program related files be part of the program 
executable using user-defined resources, but that is another story.)

Diomidis
-- 
Diomidis Spinellis                  Internet:                 dds@doc.ic.ac.uk
Department of Computing             UUCP:                    ...!ukc!icdoc!dds
Imperial College, London SW7        #include "/dev/tty"

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