Submission + - Bizarre Windows File Name Sorting 1
Phoenix00017 writes: This is not a question of dire importance, but I'm becoming intensely curious about it. I've asked this question in a couple of forums on some tech-savvy websites and have gotten no answer. I've done some Googling and have yet to find a satisfactory response. So now I'm asking Slashdot if they have any insight on this phenomenon.
The question is simply this: if you create 4 files in a folder with names "a000.txt, 0a00.txt, 00a0.txt, and 000a.txt" (the extensions are required — if no extension is given my sort works fine for some odd reason) and then sort them by name, what order do you get and why?
In Windows XP Pro SP2, I get:
00a0.txt
0a00.txt
000a.txt
a000.txt
When posting in forums, I have seen at least 4 distinct sort orders for these files from other people's computers. I know that Windows XP and later use a different file name sort algorithm than Windows 2000 did. Is it this algorithm that's causing the problem? And how could that account for people getting so many variations of the sort? Do Linux and Mac OSX fall prey to similar oddities?
The question is simply this: if you create 4 files in a folder with names "a000.txt, 0a00.txt, 00a0.txt, and 000a.txt" (the extensions are required — if no extension is given my sort works fine for some odd reason) and then sort them by name, what order do you get and why?
In Windows XP Pro SP2, I get:
00a0.txt
0a00.txt
000a.txt
a000.txt
When posting in forums, I have seen at least 4 distinct sort orders for these files from other people's computers. I know that Windows XP and later use a different file name sort algorithm than Windows 2000 did. Is it this algorithm that's causing the problem? And how could that account for people getting so many variations of the sort? Do Linux and Mac OSX fall prey to similar oddities?
