Comments by "Lawrence D’Oliveiro" (@lawrencedoliveiro9104) on "Linux Dot Files Were Never Meant To Exist" video.

  1. I think an attribute bit is the wrong solution to the problem. Think about why the dot prefix exists: it gives applications a separate namespace to use for their own housekeeping, to minimize collisions with names that users might choose for their own files. Think if you had a hidden “config” folder, and the user, for whatever reason, tried to create a file or directory called “config”, they would either overwrite it, or get an error saying it already existed. The first possibility is unfortunate, the second is just mystifying, because they cannot see the item that supposedly already exists.
    8
  2. 10:41 “This is a certified UNIX® system! I know this!”
    7
  3. 6:02 One way to tell whether something is still needed is to move it aside into a separate directory somewhere you call “delete-pending”, or some name to that effect. If after, say, 1 month, 6 months, however long it takes you feel happy, nothing untoward happens, then you can delete the contents of that directory.
    6
  4. The command ls -d ~/.[!.]* | wc -l reports that I currently have 251 dot files/directories in my home directory. Also, think of the privacy issues on a multiuser system: even if the files/directories themselves are not readable by others, it is difficult to hide their existence (or nonexistence) from other users.
    6
  5. What is really pointless is having these “.” and “..” entries in every directory. The kernel has to have special handling for these anyway, so why bother cluttering up every directory with them, and have the kernel interpret their meaning directly?
    2
  6. The way I check is, after 30 seconds, I try opening a link to my comment in a new private-browsing window (no cookies). If I can’t see it, I know it’s gone.
    2
  7. Hidden files are one thing, how about hidden files within hidden files? Do you store your email in maildir format? This creates a “~/.maildir” directory, and within that your inbox is represented by “cur”, “new” and “tmp” subdirectories, where each mail message is a separate file. If you create any mail folders, you will see them with names beginning with dots. Why?
    1
  8.  @schwingedeshaehers  That makes it difficult if you want to share some files with other users.
    1