Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!mks!andy
From: andy@mks.UUCP (Andy Toy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: ^Z in files (was: Unix-like cat for MS-DOS)
Message-ID: <1436@mks.UUCP>
Date: 12 Aug 89 00:20:10 GMT
References: <380@wjh12.harvard.edu>
Reply-To: andy@mks.waterloo.edu (Andy Toy)
Distribution: na
Organization: Mortice Kern Systems, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Lines: 27

In article <380@wjh12.harvard.edu> djb@wjh12.UUCP (David J. Birnbaum) writes:
>I looked for an MS-DOS implemen-
>tation and tried the one in picnix31, but it includes the EOF
>character and I am unable to concatenate text files and then look
>at them without tripping over the embedded control-Z.  There doesn't
>seem to be a switch that would concatenate text files and dump the
>extra control-Zs (retaining the one at the end of the last file, of
>course).

Why, oh why, do programmes insist on putting ^Z in files?  ^Z is just
another character and it could be in files for real.  There is
absolutely no reason to have ^Z in MS-DOS files because there no
requirement for a MS-DOS file to end in ^Z.  The actual size of
the files is stored elsewhere.

It is a real ascii code and and should not be thrown away and it should
not be tossed in unless it's part of the file.

Help stomp out putting ^Z at the end of files indiscrimimently and
preserve the friendly ^Z that is supposed to be in the file.  And be
sure not use software that pads the whole last block with ^Zs (shudder)!

Well, there, I got it out of my system :-)
-- 
Andy Toy, Mortice Kern Systems Inc.,       Internet: andy@mks.com
  35 King Street North, Waterloo,       UUCP: uunet!watmath!mks!andy
      Ontario, CANADA N2J 2W9      Phone: 519/884-2251  FAX: 519/884-8861