Re: are directories files?

From: nos (nos_at_nospam.com)
Date: 02/26/04 

Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 22:25:21 GMT

"Ryan Stewart" <zzanNOtozz@gSPAMo.com> wrote in message
news:p8adnUHXH5ile6DdRVn-jw@texas.net...
> "Tum" <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
> news:%8j%b.28510$ws.3207260@news02.tsnz.net...
> > Hi folks,
> >
> > I've been trying to make a decision and it's driving me crazy.
> >
> > Is a directory a file or is a directory NOT a file but a node?
> >
> > Should I have
> >
> > A)
> >
> > public interface IFile
> > {
> > IFileName FileName;
> > IFileContent GetContent();
> > }
> >
> > public interface IDirectory
> > extends IFile
> > {
> > }
> >
> >
> > or
> >
> > B)
> >
> > public interface INode
> > {
> > INodeName NodeName;
> > }
> >
> > public interface IFile
> > extends INode
> > {
> > IFileContent GetContent();
> > }
> >
> > public interface IDirectory
> > extends INode
> > {
> > }
> >
> >
> > Method A is nice cause IFile becomes the base "Node" type and you can
use
> > names like "IFileName" which sounds nice compared to "INodeName" and
fits
> > with the "FileSystem" moniker. A has the disadvantage that IDirectory
has
> a
> > GetContent() method which isn't bad but can be considered a bit weird.
It
> > probably wouldn't be too hard to make users think of everything as a
file.
> >
> > Method B is nice cause IDirectory doesn't have GetContent() -- that
honour
> > belongs only to IFile. B is at a disadvantage when it comes to naming:
> > everything becomes a "Node". INodeName sounds rude compared to
IFileName
> > and it's a bit weird to have everything based on something called a
"Node"
> > when the system is called a "File System" but this method feels more
> "pure"
> > in the OO sense cause you're specialising features completely.
> >
> > Do you reckon I can get away with Method A? It doesn't seem as pure
> unless
> > you spend a long time convincing yourself that (for all intents and
> > purposes) a file *is* a node (it's just got a different name) and a
> > directory *is* a file.
> >
> > A penny for anyone's thoughts...
> >
> >
> > ^Tum
> >
> Since java.io.File covers both files and directories, it's not exactly a
new
> way of thinking.
>
This works

File f = new File(".");

Relevant Pages