[Info-vax] OT: Rob Short: Operating System Evolution

[Paul Sture]

In article <4B40C18A.2050202 at planet.nl>,
 Wilm Boerhout <w6.boerhout at planet.nl> wrote:

> VAXman- @SendSpamHere.ORG mentioned  on 3-1-2010 16:48:
> 
> [snip]
> 
> >>> You're saying that a .DOC is XML?  I thought it was proprietary M$ 
> >>> W(ei)RD.
> >>>
> >> You can use any extension you like and it has little or nothing to to 
> >> with the file contents.  Programs will make assumptions about format and 
> >> content based on the extension but don't let that limit your creativity!
> > 
> > Well, VMS doesn't and that brings this back to being a VMS thread.
> 
> 
> With VMS, you can indeed $RUN any file, but the OS sort of assumes, no 
> strike this anthropomorphic description, and instead use: ... but you 
> get the most benefit out of a $RUN command if the file you $RUN is 
> indeed an executable.
> 
> Anyway, you get the idea, it's the humans operating the computer that 
> determine what actions are best used on what files. This goes for VMS 
> and Windows and Linux alike. And both have sort of implied defaults for 
> certains actions and/or file types. Difference is, "activating" a file 
> object on Windows can trigger actions based on file type ("extension"), 
> but that is by convention only, and is easily overruled by the user. And 
> on Windows, you can re-associate the .docx extension with running the 
> Unzip program on the file, if you think it is more useful. Likewise, on 
> VMS, you can rename all your .EXE files to .TXT and then get stuck with 
> $RUN foobar.TXT. Useful? Not around here.
> 
> /Wilm
> 
> O and BTW, .doc is not zipped XML, but .docx is.
> 

This is one area where I have a real grouse about OpenOffice. It insists 
that CSV files must be named .csv, even if you are using tab delimited 
files.

-- 
Paul Sture