[latexrefman] \openin & \openout

[Hefferon, Jim S.]

That's basically what I said (w/o the Knuth stuff).  But it is, as you know better than I, suboptimal.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_B_personality_disorders

________________________________________
From: latexrefman <latexrefman-bounces+jhefferon=smcvt.edu at tug.org> on behalf of Karl Berry <karl at freefriends.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2018 5:53:03 PM
To: latexrefman at tug.org
Subject: Re: [latexrefman] \openin & \openout

There is no reliable (cross-platform, cross-implementation, backward
compatible, etc.) way to use spaces in filenames.  There are various
hacks with various pros and cons, but I see no need to describe them
here. If we say anything, I think it should be simply that using
anything beyond the basic ASCII letters and numbers is going to be
implementation-dependent.

Same for what happens with extensions. Basically, Knuth created a morass
in this area from the beginning by (understandably) using the
conventions of his development machine instead of defining a
system-independent layer.  Hence subsequent craziness in all directions ... -k