Fw: [AD] [TODO] About findfirst

["Matthew Smith" <matt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry for the private post Eric, the "reply to" works differently in [AD]
and [AL] for me (sorry to others I've done this to too)

 findfirst() has bothered me for ages.  The LFN version of ffblk can handle
Windows filenames and all three dates etc. and is tempting to write code
that depends heavily on this structure, which has .info pages etc.

 This is one of DJ Delorie's extensions to DJGPP, so it is a problem for
anyone wanting to move DJGPP code to MSVC or gcc. along with strsep etc.
which you use for years before checking their POSIX compliance

 for_each_file()  is the allegro's answer, which wouldn't be necessary if
some of DJ's libs were ported back to gcc and to MS compilers, but they
haven't been, AFAIK, except partly by me to VC.

 I disagree with the common opinion that these functions are useless in
Linux, as the file information is not the same. I say it is close enough
for 90% of the dos programs which would otherwise port unchanged.

Anyway, this is essentially a problem for the djgpp group, but they won't
touch it as they see it as a problem for all the other compilers.  I don't
hang out in MSVC groups so I don't know how much interest I'd find there
but
I can guess.

 my points

1) This is not a problem _with_ Allegro

2) It is a problem _for_  Allegro programmers, so should be on the TODO list
 maybe as an EXTERN ( along with fixing win2k and VESA3.0 )

3) It would be ok to insist in readme.?? that your compiler needs
'upgrading' to support the file and string functions from DJGPP.

4) I don't know which organisation should maintain this library, although it
could be on Simtel as it would be GPL due to large chunks being taken
straight from DJ's lib.  I suppose a SourceForge project would do nicely.
As I have started the coding I may as well start the project, but my license
to use MSVC expired with my last employment, so I can't do much to advance
what I've done.

5) If all this sounds extreme then Allegro needs it's own functions, in
DJGPP as well as others, because there are no POSIX standards.
and maybe it is just better to avoid non-POSIX string functions, although I
supply strsep.c with my programs rather than rewrite them, which possibly
makes my whole code GPL :)p

Matt