In what OS did the use of the '.' first mean 'the current directory' ?
+1
A:
i would guess dot = point = current target. but that's just my guess.
dusoft
2009-06-15 12:25:32
that's a good point. :)
Shadi Almosri
2009-06-15 12:32:22
provisionally accepted since as speculative answers go, it's dandy
JustJeff
2009-11-01 12:37:23
dandy, indeed :-)
dusoft
2009-11-01 19:16:08
How does this answer the question (which is *In what OS did the use of the '.' first mean 'the current directory' ?*)?
Pascal Thivent
2009-11-04 02:03:44
A:
I believe its because '..' meant one directory up, so '.' was used for the current directory, which explicitly states to only look in the current directory, rather than the path.
samoz
2009-06-15 12:27:46
+2
A:
In what OS did the use of the '.' first mean 'the current directory' ?
I think it was Unix (still trying to find the reference) Actually, it might be Multics (a project started in 1964), the first operating system to provide a hierarchical file system:
I think that Multics was the first to provide a hierarchical file system. The influence of that innovation can be found in virtually every modern operating system, including Unix, Mac OS, DOS and Windows. [JHS]
But I'm still trying to find the reference for the one period and two periods pointers.
Pascal Thivent
2009-11-02 03:59:37
It is mentioned in the Unix Programmer's Manual version 1 in the manual page for ls.
starblue
2009-11-03 07:34:23
@starblue Thank you very much! I'm going to check this right now.
Pascal Thivent
2009-11-03 09:44:53
@starblue Hmmm... Actually, I couldn't find it in the man of ls (Commands, part 2) at http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/1stEdman.html. Are you sure of this? Am I looking at the wrong document?
Pascal Thivent
2009-11-03 09:55:59