Koba has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

G'day monks,

i need your wisdom for i tricky problem.

I am running on a WINDOWS server through a UNC path with a by find2perl created script. But as soon as it reaches the first folder with more than 256 chars folder length it terminates with an error.

Now i think the easiest way is to use short file/foldernames. But how can i tell perl to use short names for my script?

Or is there any other way to solve this problem. I cannot run it on the device itself, it's a NAS. And to assign the unc path to a drive letter needs an exception request which will cost me days of paperwork.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: find2perl and 256 chars folder length
by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Mar 14, 2010 at 12:01 UTC

    Take a look at the (Windows) subst command. Itr allows you to locally assign a drive letter to any path.

    This can also be done programmincally using Win32::FileOp::subst().

    Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
    "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
    In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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Re: find2perl and 256 chars folder length
by afoken (Chancellor) on Mar 14, 2010 at 15:38 UTC
[reply]
      But this is exactly what my problem is. I need a way to tell the perl interpreter to use only short names. Or i have to rewrite the find module to convert each file/folder into short named version before searching the next subfolder. Anyone any idea?
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        One option would be to use windows tools instead to get your list of files. Eg. 

        c:\test>dir /s /b Zz*
c:\test\ZZXYZ
c:\test\abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghij
+klmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyza
+bcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqr
+stuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz\ZZZXYX

        [download]

        You can either pipe the list into your script, or invoke the command via a piped open and get it that way.

        Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
        "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
        In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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[d/l]

        Download the source from my page, find the functions I used, and use Win32::API or one of the existing Win32 functions to port my algorithm to perl. Win32::GetShortPathName() and Win32::GetLongPathName() are documented in the latter module, but they are availabe as CORE functions (without use Win32;), so you don't even have to mess with Win32::API.

        Alexander

        --
        Today I will gladly share my knowledge and experience, for there are no sweeter words than "I told you so". ;-)
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Re: find2perl and 256 chars folder length
by Anonymous Monk on Mar 14, 2010 at 12:01 UTC
    Try Win32::GetShortPathName()
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