> From: Thomas B. Passin [mailto:]
>
> But file extensions are __very helpful__ for humans, just
> like human-readable element names are.
I think they're helpful insofar as that's what humans are given as help.
What's really helpful is using a mouse click to open a file or a browser
switching on the mime type; I don't need an extension to do that. The
problem is that the extension is information about the data type of the
file; putting it in the name means you can change the type without
changing the data. (Perhaps we should throw the file size and the
permissions into the name as well... ;)
Extensions are less helpful than names. And I like what David Gelernter
said about file names: roughly, file names are like animals; if you have
two or three pets you give them a name; if you have a herd of sheep you
don't bother.
regards,
Bill de hÓra
..
Propylon
www.propylon.com
