[Octave-bug-tracker] [bug #57664] dir() function folder element is empty for Windows UNC network-based files

[Dan Sebald]

Follow-up Comment #8, bug #57664 (project octave):

I agree Mike.

Actually, I think this is easier than we imagine, but I haven't had time all
week to look at this.  The UNC is much more restrictive, and ostensibly is
already in canonical format.  There has to be a full path beginning with // or
\\.  There are no relative paths or present or parent directory symbols that
you described.  Stuff like //SERVER/path/to/../to/server doesn't work.

So, I'm thinking all we need do is verify that some files return (which they
do), and if canonicalize_file_name() is empty (and on Windows?), run the name
through remove-whitespace routine, check for // or \\ at the start, if present
then just set the folder to that white-space free name.

The silliness in this UNC stuff is Windows.  Three or four decades now after
the advent of the PC, and Windows still has a 247 character limit on *path*
names, not file names, but path names.  Do you know how easy it is to burn up
247 characters in a UNC name?  Terabyte servers aren't going to have all their
files at the root path.  Uncompress something with deep directories, and it's
"path too long".

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