X-Recipient:	archive-cygwin AT delorie DOT com
X-SWARE-Spam-Status:	No, hits=2.0 required=5.0 tests=AWL,BAYES_00,BOTNET,KHOP_THREADED,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE,RCVD_IN_HOSTKARMA_NO,RCVD_IN_HOSTKARMA_YE
X-Spam-Check-By:	sourceware.org
Message-id:	<511E667D.6020000@cygwin.com>
Date:	Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:46:53 -0500
From:	"Larry Hall (Cygwin)" <reply-to-list-only-lh AT cygwin DOT com>
Reply-to:	cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
User-Agent:	Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:17.0) Gecko/20130107 Thunderbird/17.0.2
MIME-version:	1.0
To:	cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Subject:	Re: Is this a bug or a behavior?
References:	<511BBBD4 DOT 8090902 AT fastmail DOT fm> <CE9C056E12502146A72FD81290379E9A608E7C64 AT ENFIRHMBX1 DOT datcon DOT co DOT uk> <511DC7A4 DOT 80701 AT centrych DOT org>
In-reply-to:	<511DC7A4.80701@centrych.org>
Mailing-List:	contact cygwin-help AT cygwin DOT com; run by ezmlm
List-Id:	<cygwin.cygwin.com>
List-Subscribe:	<mailto:cygwin-subscribe AT cygwin DOT com>
List-Archive:	<http://sourceware.org/ml/cygwin/>
List-Post:	<mailto:cygwin AT cygwin DOT com>
List-Help:	<mailto:cygwin-help AT cygwin DOT com>, <http://sourceware.org/ml/#faqs>
Sender:	cygwin-owner AT cygwin DOT com
Mail-Followup-To:	cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Delivered-To:	mailing list cygwin AT cygwin DOT com

On 2/15/2013 12:29 AM, Centrych Administrator wrote:

<snip>

> How can it ever be consistent while 'filename' and filename.exe' are allowed
> to exist in the same directory?
>
> Is there some way to differentiate between a Windows .exe and a Cygwin
> binary, like grep.exe, that's intended to execute within the Cygwin
> environment?

I believe these questions are the crux of your inquiry so I've stripped
out the surrounding details.  Apologies if you feel I've removed something
you feel is a significant point.

This goes to the heart of a difference between how Windows and Linux treat
executables and various ingrained assumptions both make about their
respective expectations (essentially what Adam said ;-) ).  Cygwin does try
to bridge this gap but it has its limits as well.  This is actually not
new issue and has been discussed many times in the past on this list.  If
you're interested in the details or, even better, in improving what's
currently implemented, I'd recommend reviewing previous discussions, the
ideas they generated, and the issues and limitations mentioned.  That
should help you understand the current state and provide you with an
informed basis if you want to take a swing at providing some patch.

The only short answer I can give you is that the current state is a 
compromise.  That doesn't mean there isn't a better one.  Just that it's
a complicated area for many reasons so getting to a better state is also
complicated.

-- 
Larry

_____________________________________________________________________

A: Yes.
 > Q: Are you sure?
 >> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.
 >>> Q: Why is top posting annoying in email?

--
Problem reports:       http://cygwin.com/problems.html
FAQ:                   http://cygwin.com/faq/
Documentation:         http://cygwin.com/docs.html
Unsubscribe info:      http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple

- Raw text -