[Ffmpeg-devel] [PATCH] from DivX, Part 2: Multifile source

[Steve Lhomme]

M?ns Rullg?rd wrote:
> Michael Niedermayer <michaelni at gmx.at> writes:
> 
>> Hi
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 25, 2006 at 09:36:10AM -1000, Steve Lhomme wrote:
>> [...]
>>>>> +#define IO_MULTI_FILE_SEPAR  '*'
>>>> IMHO a '*' is a uncommon choice as seperator, what about : or , ?
>>> The idea is to be able to use -i cat:file1.vob*file2.vob from the 
>>> command-line. * is the only one I found that can't be set (easily) in a 
>>> filename on Windows and Linux.
>> ok, personally i dont care, so if noone complains iam fine with * as
>> seperator
> 
> It is always a good idea to avoid using shell metacharacters,
> particularly those that expand into multiple names, and * as a
> separator feels unnatural to me.  In Unix systems : is the typical
> separator for things like $PATH, and files with a : in the name are as
> rare as those with a *.  In Windows, I suppose : is not such a good
> choice because of the drive letter mess.  Since any character is legal
> in a Unix filename, it's hard to come up with a good choice though.

Exactly, : is not an option for Windows because it's including in each 
file path (in the apps we are doing). The "unnatural" aspect is actually 
a feature, so that you have to use "cat:file1.vob*file2.vob" in double 
quotes. In that case multiple file expansion shouldn't occur.