Max File Extension Length

Question

Is there a maximum lengh for a file extension? The longest one I've seen is .compiled (8 chars)

Useless Background

I'm creating a IHttpHandler to return image icons for a specific filename. I'm simply calling a FileImage.axd?ext=pptx. I'm generating the files on the fly using SHGetFileInfo similar to my post for WPF, then caching them locally in a folder with the filename 'pptx.png'. I'd like to validate the length and trim it to prevent a DoS type attack where someone would try to generate images for and infinite number of junk characters (eg FileImage.axd?ext=asdfasdfweqrsadfasdfwqe...).

Answer 1

As far as I know, there is no limit, except the maximum length of the file name. Extension is not treated specially except in FAT16.

Answer 2

I agree with Arkadiy - there is no formal limit now that the DOS 8.3 system is a thing of the past (or other similar, limited systems). I would say that the majority of the extensions I've seen are in the range 1-3; Java uses 4 for .java and 5 for .class. Your example with 8 is longer than I recall. If I were scoping, I'd aim for 'unlimited'; if that's not feasible, allow at least 16 characters - with the confident expectation that in fact 16 would be quite sufficient for current systems.