> > One possibilty would be to use a double extension of "*.plkr.pdb" somewhat > > similar to a "*.tar.gz" file. > > Which could cause weird problems on Windows (remember the mess with > the AnnaKournikova.jpg.pif trojans floating around) subject to the Windows > user's file-extension preferences.
Hmm, I don't think it causes weird problems, it is just treated like a naming convention really. Similar to what tar.gz is. It is a gzipped file, but it describes what it is a zip of: a .tar file. Those trojans were nothing special, they were just executables that happen to have an extra period in their filename. If people are running untrusted executables in their email, then they are going to either have problems, or eventually learn to use some filtering software. > > I think that would allow pdb files to still be read correctly by while > > still marking plkr databases as plkr.> > Can I ask a simple question? Why is this even being discussed? Why > is the default extension no longer good enough? It's good enough for the > 17,000 other Palm applications, why do we have to change that? I don't see > the need to do this.. is this so that the Plucker Desktop can tell what kind > of file it is? You can do that by reading the first few records of the data > and acting accordingly. If I drag-n-drop AddressDB.pdb onto the Plucker > Desktop, it can easily tell what kind of file that is, and reject it. The Desktop currently doesn't need it for anything (nor likely to), as data is output as pdbs, not taken as input. > Or is there some other reason I'm not seeing, that necessitated this > change? Unless I am missing something too, I don't think this is in any way a necessity. However, an extension of .pdb in a disseminated file doesn't answer the question of "how am I supposed to read this binary file?". If I recive a .pdf file, I know to open up a PDF document reader and I can read it. A .pdb extension on a received document, or in a library of shared documents, just tells that it needs to be read on a Palm somehow, but it means starting up all the database program and proprietary readers trying to which format it is by it showing up in the list of avaialable documents. But I am quite easy-going on whichever is the better long-term organization. Best wishes, Robert
