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oboe (15 posts)
Feb-02-02, 12:55 PM (EST) "File naming Standards" Hi All:I am new to MSTS compared to many of you here on the forum, and I was working on my routes alone in the dark for several months until this group was "discovered". I have learned much, and "borrowed" many files and tool routines since discovering this site. The forum has added greatly to my enjoyment of MSTS and helped me get rid of many of the problems that plagued me while I was "in the dark". My thanks to everyone here for that.BUT .... ( oh oh, there's always a catch ).. There is one glaring problem that bodes ill for the future of train simming, and I'm sure that it has reared it's ugly head in other programs of this type elsewhere on the net. A lot of people are making great new locos, buildings, etc. for the sim, and there does seem to be a movement towards some sort of order in naming files, but nothing that will assure the prevention of duplicate file names. Several posts have alluded to this problem since the beginning of December when I "discovered" your forums. I am going to make a suggestion that might help, and if others of you agree ( on this idea or some other method ), I will TRY to help make it happen across all of the boards, and send some suggestive emails to those companies that are producing for this sim.Most important is preventing duplicate files, and a simple method is for a person to apply his own initials or a routes initials to the end of filename instead of the front. Example: "abc_station.s" becomes "abc_station_DSP_A.s" Where the added letters "DSP" are the three initials of the creator of the file, and the "A" has been added because there was hypothetically a "DSP" creating files somewhere else. The benefit of using the file creators initials are many. 1. No central registry needs to be kept ( Except maybe for Initials. ) And a creator becomes responsible for his own filenaming structure.2. Nobody has to "apply" to anyone for a filename.3. Your name lives forever ( for ego fans ) 4. DUPLICATE FILENAMES ARE VIRTUALLY ELIMINATED.5. Companies can still use things like USA2 or their own companies initials in the filename, but at the end instead of the front.The second part of this thought, is in changing the way we name the front of a file. The current practice is to use the route name at the front ( JP1, USA2, etc. ), but this puts things all over the map when combining files, and makes items difficult to find in the placement menu. A better method might be naming files as shown below.Instead of: "USA2_johnston_station.s"
Use: "Sta_johnston_usa2.s
or: "sta_johnston_dsp_a.s ( for individual creator.)Using this format would allow things to fall into a natural order within the menus, and make it much easier to group items together by type in the future.Filename starting Examples: "sta" = station "bld"=building "bld_hse" = "building, house" Things like locos, sound files, eng files and the like, should have a common filename starting point too, but I think those development groups doing these items should come up with the methods.OK ... I've thrown my hat in the ring, and it's probably going to stir up a hornets nest. These are only suggestions, and there might be much better ways of doing this, but I really think that something should be done. It's NOT too late to start. As the Sim grows, computers become faster, and resolutions go up, many of the early items that fall outside of a naming standard will fall by the wayside. Would this be a good thing to do ...What do you think ???oboe
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