"File types"

[Don]

John Foust wrote:
> Did anyone mention MacBinary, the sanctioned method for wrapping
> two-fork Mac OS files in a single file for transmission or
> storage in a single flat file?  Or the way some apps were
> smart enough to create Mac files as MacBinary when the files
> were being stored on non-Mac (networked) file systems?
> 
> Or AppleDouble format, the way they preserved the fork on 
> non-Mac floppies (both MS-DOS and ProDOS)?
> 
> Did anyone mention the early NT Server's optional Mac compatibility 
> mode that allowed Macs to store forked files on NTFS?

Yes, but all of the above just help you move the files between Macs
(i.e. the NT mechanisms just allows the actual move-to-target
to be delayed, indefinitely).

The "problem" is that file "types" aren't (weren't before MIME;
and, arguably, *still* aren't even despite MIME!) standardized.
And, even now, file types seem to be named after-the-fact.
I.e. if something becomes commonplace, enough, then a MIME
type is created for it.  Not "planned" (perhaps it shouldn't be)

> Did anyone mention the way some old Mac apps used the resource fork 
> (not the data fork) for storing data, because there were
> convenient API calls that made it slightly database-like?
> 
> Did anyone mention the way Windows hides the extension from the
> user by default?

There are switches to turn it on "for registered types"
(the extension is present for unregistered types!).
And, even with the extension hidden, the same information
accompanies the file in listings -- just in a more verbose
form.

> Would it be useful to discuss old OS filesystem metadata, such
> as the 80-char "comment" field in AmigaDOS?
> 
> No one mentioned the http://www.formatexchange.com/ project
> from a year ago.  Sellam was promoting it.
> 
> As for file.dmg.hqx and file.tar.gz, did anyone mention the Icelandic 
> naming habit of assigning a child's last name based on the same-gender 
> parent's first name?  Annasdóttir?  Þorvaldsdóttir?  Gunnarsson?

Yes, and a Macedonian (?) married female's last name is a
diminutive form of her husband's last name.  And married
females in western societies *tend* to use "Mrs".

[the whole "person name" issue was an illustration that we
don't REGULARLY tag people with names that identify their
characteristics/"types"; do red-haired people get named
differently than black-haired?  do tall people get different
names than short people?]