Re: [PATCH] Add CONFIG_VFAT_NO_CREATE_WITH_LONGNAMES option

Dave Kleikamp
2009-05-01T19:09:48Z

On Fri, 2009-05-01 at 22:19 +0400, Michael Tokarev wrote:
> Dave Kleikamp wrote:
> > On Fri, 2009-05-01 at 13:47 -0400, Christoph Hellwig wrote:
> >> On Fri, May 01, 2009 at 12:41:29PM -0500, Dave Kleikamp wrote:
> >>> From: Andrew Tridgell <tridge@samba.org>
> >>> Subject: [PATCH] Add CONFIG_VFAT_NO_CREATE_WITH_LONGNAMES option
> >>>
> >>> When this option is enabled the VFAT filesystem will refuse to create
> >>> new files with long names. Accessing existing files with long names
> >>> will continue to work.
> >>>
> >>> File names to be created must conform to the 8.3 format. Mixed case is
> >>> not allowed in either the prefix or the suffix.
> >> This doesn't make any sense as a compile time option. Might make sense
> >> as a mount option, but I'd like to hear a rationale for it first.
> >
> > Some linux-based devices would be happy not to contain code to create
> > the long name at all.
>
> Well, is that a rationale per se? Which devices they are and why?

Could be anything. cameras, phones, etc. Anything that might be
mountable by a host computer in order to share files, or to write to a
device that can be shared by other computers or devices.

> But besides, why `msdos' filesystem is not sufficient?
> It contains no code to create long file names and no code to
> read such names either.

An example, an mp3 player wants to read files with long mixed-case
names, which can be manipulated on a host computer. But it may not need
to create files that don't fit the 8.3 syntax.

Of course, msdos might be a good option for other devices.

Shaggy
--
David Kleikamp
IBM Linux Technology Center