"File types"

[aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk]

 --- Don <THX1138 at dakotacom.net> wrote: 

> I.e. type needs to be finer grained than silly N
> *character*
> file "extensions"... *everyone* wants to be "DOC",
> or some
> other pronounceable extension.  So, the file types
> lose their
> value (e.g., on my W2K box, Matlab and Mathematica
> both want
> to use .m -- so, .m files are meaningless to me
> since I can't
> recall FROM THE NAME OF THE FILE which application
> needs to
> be opened to process the file).  MacOS *seems* to
> have had the
> right idea (though I have never used it "seriously
"
> to know
> for sure).
>  


*raises hand*

Why not use a combination of an extension
name and internal references within the files
data, like the IFF format on the Amiga.

eg. Filename: mypic.IFF

and then within the first 16 bytes are
contained the ASCII "ILBM" and something else
(I forget... that's what not having a properly
working Amiga does to me!). Not sure why
they are spread apart and not the first few
bytes.


As far as I am concerned it is down to the
software to *detect* whether or not the
file is the right type, regardless of whether
the extension name is correct (eg. IFF stands
for Interchange File Format, or something
similar, and can have sounds stored in an 
.IFF file instead of image data).

Personally I developed a (lame) .ABI image
format for the Amiga last year, and apart
from the .ABI extension it has a couple
of other ways to detect it is the correct file
type - eg. my initials ("ADB") are at the end 
of the file aswell as something else hidden
in the data (that was also included just so
I could verify it's *my* file type - I don't
want to invent something and have it stolen
from me like so many great idea's (not 
referring to mine now) in the past.


Regards,
Andrew B
aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk