Re: Is findfirst/findnext deterministic? (same order each time)?

Article View: alt.msdos.programmer

Article #922

Back to alt.msdos.programmer Previous Next

#922

From: Rick Vandenberg
Date: Sat, 02 Jan 1993 18:36

26 lines
1559 bytes

pdh@netcom.com (Phil Howard ) writes:

> raymond@kronos.arc.nasa.gov (Eric A. Raymond) writes:
> 
> >Are the DOS findfirst/findnext directory functions deterministic.
> >That is, will they report the files in the same order for a given
> >disk?
> 
> Not unless the files are on there in exactly the same order.  You get
> the files in the order they are in the directory data blocks themselves.
> I am working on a program where I want the files in a more deterministic
> way, and I sort them myself.

To expand on this, if you take directory with no files in it, then add
files a,b,c,d and e, they will be accessed in the order a,b,c,d,e.
Fine.  Now delete file c.  The order is now a,b,d,e.  Now create a new
file f.  The order will be a,b,f,d,e.  This is because creating file f
uses the first free directory entry, which was freed by deleting file c.

Rick

--
Rick Vandenberg             rick@vsystem.wimsey.bc.ca
Vandenberg Systems Research For more information about V-MailServer
204 - 2255 West 5th Ave.    send a blank e-mail to
Vancouver, BC V6K 4K1       vmail-info-request@vsystem.wimsey.bc.ca

Technical Details

Message-ID: <JViRwB4w165w@vsystem.wimsey.bc.ca>

Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!van-bc!vsystem!rick

References: <1993Jan2.071846.22403@netcom.com>

Show Full Headers

Complete Article Headers

Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!van-bc!vsystem!rick
From: rick@vsystem.wimsey.bc.ca (Rick Vandenberg)
Newsgroups: alt.msdos.programmer,comp.os.msdos.programmer
Subject: Re: Is findfirst/findnext deterministic? (same order each time)?
Message-ID: <JViRwB4w165w@vsystem.wimsey.bc.ca>
Date: Sat, 02 Jan 93 10:36:30 PST
References: <1993Jan2.071846.22403@netcom.com>
Organization: Vandenberg Systems Research, Vancouver BC
Lines: 26

Reply to Parent Message