Re: DOSEMU/DOSBOX question

[Paul Lagasse pglagasse@xxxxxxxx]

flash wrote:
> ≪Longer filenames are truncated - the first five characters are the
> same, then there's a tilde, and then there are two characters that
> seem to bear no relationship to the filename.
>
> Thus,
>
> .dosemurc becomes DOSEM~HU
> .dosemurc~ becomes DOSEM~8Z ≫
> This is typical for systems which do not support long file names. They
> truncate and generate unique 8.3 names.
Yes, I understand re truncation. Wally had asked how file names were
handled in dosemu and dosbox in Linux, so I was reporting what showed up
in a Xy directory listing etc in dosemu. I was intrigued, though, that
there appeared to be no predictable or standard pattern in how long file
names were truncated (in Dosemu/Linux), unlike in XP, where similar
files are shown as "...~1" "....~2" etc.
Dosbox, which I also have installed but don't use, reports truncated and
hidden Linux filenames differently, and as best I can tell reports them
the same way it does in XP (there's a dosbox for Windows, Linux, etc.).
Truncated filenames in Dosbox in Linux follow the standard Windows
pattern, ~1, ~2, etc. Hidden filenames also show up in Dosbox (in both
Linux and WinXP), and in Linux don't display the initial period that
marks a hidden file or directory. Hidden files that lack an extension
don't get -- in Dosbox -- the three underscores in the place of the
extension that they get in Dosemu (nonhidden files don't have this
marker in Dosemu). So, to the eye at least, there's amore consistent
pattern to how long filenames are handled in Dosbox than Dosemu. But
since I'm never editing any of these files with Xy, this is not a
problem (the carriage return/line feed issue makes Linux files fun to
read in Xy in any case). I haven't tested out opening and saving a
long-filename file in Dosemu/Xy to see if the filename gets trashed.
One more thing re Dosbox/Dosemu filename display differences. In Dosbox,
the Readme.txt, readme.txt, and README.TXT files that all displayed as
README.TXT in a Xy/Dosemu directory listing (with only readme.txt
callable), display as README.TXT, README1.TXT, and README2.TXT. I assume
there's a tilde there, and also assume that this notation makes them
individually callable, but didn't take the time to open them (and I
can't get an expanded view of the directory listing in Xy/Dosbox to see
if the tilde's there; maybe Ctrl+F8 is reserved in Dosbox). I don't know
what would happen if I tried to call, edit, and save one of them -- ie,
is Dosbox capable of saving Readme.txt as Readme.txt after I edited it
in Xy, or will it become README.TXT. Also I didn't experiment fully
enough in Dosbox to know if I can figure out how Dosbox decides which
which README.TXT displays as README1, README2, or README in the dos
directory listing. As it happens, Readme.txt was README.TXT -- I don't
remember for certain if that was the first, second, or last file I
created when I was testing out how they displayed in Dosemu.
If anyone wants to know I can push this further, at least in terms of
seeing what happens and reporting what I see, but don't expect a
sophisticated analysis from me.

Paul