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It would be kind of neat if changing the extension of a file caused it to be converted automatically. It would save a bunch of typing and browsing around. Just
by aflag 6y ago
It would be kind of neat if changing the extension of a file caused it to be converted automatically. It would save a bunch of typing and browsing around. Just rename a directory to foo.tar.gz and it gets compressed and tarred. I'm not saying that the kernel should be doing that, but it feels like a nice abstraction for some UI.
- amelius 6y agoBut why tar it in the first place? If you want to share a directory, the system can tar it for you behind the scenes. Also, the system can zip anything behind the scenes, without the user knowing.
- aflag 6y agoI guess it would make sense if you want to archive it and save some disk space. It also not always clear to the system that you are sharing a directory, if you drop it on a network drive, for instance. But yes, I think zipping a directory is not the most compelling use case.
- BlueTemplar 6y agoAmazing idea !
- scpedicini 6y agoThis is one of those ideas that seems nice in theory but in practice would just lead to so many subtle problems especially if it happened automatically. Lots of programs create temporary files by changing the extension temporarily but if the kernel were attempting to intercept and change the internal data you could never guarantee the state of your file data. Not to mention potentially renaming an extension to an automatically handled extension and having that data irrevocably altered without you even realizing it. Then of course there's the fact that there are usually lots of options associated with converting a file. Jpg needs visual compression levels, mp3 needs bitrates, etc.