LFN : Java Glossary

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©1996-2017 2011-11-24 Roedy Green of Canadian Mind Products

LFN
LFN (Long File Name). With Windows 95, Microsoft introduced filenames longer than 8.3. They did it in a way upwardly compatible with DOS (Disk Operating System). Each file had two filenames, short and long. DOS programs were then retrofitted with the abilitly to also process long file names with a new set of interrupts (system API (Application Programming Interface) calls). With NT and NTFS (New Technology File System), Microsoft dropped the dual name FAT (File Allocation Table) scheme and went to a non-DOS compatible scheme where each file had only its long name.

Most old DOS programs cannot handle the new long filenames. They only see the short version usually containing a ~,

You rarely see the short forms of long file name, though Take Command will show them to you and you sometimes see them in the registry.

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