kells@iis.UUCP (Kevin Kells) (03/27/90)
I've noticed---in particular in some InterViews #include files---that files are sometimes specified with absolute pathnames that begin with two slashes instead of one. Example: #include "//usr/include/sys/time.h" Is it standard to use two slashes "//" instead of one slash "/" in absolute pathnames to represent the root directory? What is the reason that people (or programs) use this style? Thanks, Kevin -- Kevin D. Kells Real-mail: Institut fuer Integrierte Systeme uucp: kells@iis.UUCP ETH-Zentrum Internet: kells@iis.ethz.ch CH-8092 Zuerich Phone alternate: kdk@prism.gatech.edu Switzerland +41-1-256-5746
guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris) (03/29/90)
>Is it standard to use two slashes "//" instead of one slash "/" in >absolute pathnames to represent the root directory? No! In fact, POSIX specifically says that "A 'pathname' that begins with two successive 'slashes' may be interpreted in an implementation-dependent manner." There exists systems (Apollo's systems begin among them, and I think there exist others) that treat "//machine_name/dir/dir/.../file" as referring to a file in the directory "/dir/dir/.../file" on machine "machine_name"s file systems.