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1.15 Filenames

Like all operating systems, UNIX files have names: words (sequences of characters, whatever) that let you identify a file. Older versions of UNIX had some restrictions on the length of a filename (14 characters), but modern versions have removed these restrictions for all practical purposes. Sooner or later you will run into a limit, but if so, you are probably being unnecessarily verbose.

Technically, a filename can be made from almost any group of characters (including non-printing characters) except a slash (/). However, you should avoid filenames containing most punctuation marks and all non-printing characters. These will usually be a pain. To be safe, limit your filenames to the following characters:

I'm so dead-set against using weird, non-printing characters in filenames that I won't even tell you how to do it. I will give you some special techniques for deleting files with weird names (23.11), in case you create some by accident.

Some things to be aware of:

- ML


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