The syntax that the operating system uses to resolve an object name that you specify (either a file or directory) to an actual system object depends upon the interface you are using to access or name the object. A name syntax is a set of rules that defines the structure of valid names for that syntax.
The hierarchical file system (HFS) name syntax used by MPE/iX conforms to object name syntax rules defined by the POSIX.1 standard. (A second name syntax, MPE name syntax, is supported through the MPE/iX Command Interpreter and through system intrinsics.) The POSIX/iX library and the MPE/iX Shell and Utilities interpret object names using only the HFS name syntax when resolving an object name to a system object. You can successfully name any file or directory on your system using HFS name syntax.
The following rules apply when naming files and hierarchical directories using MPE/iX HFS name syntax:
File and hierarchical directory names can contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9) as well as the dot (.), underscore (_), and dash (-) characters.
File and hierarchical directory names cannot begin with a dash (-) character.
File and hierarchical directory names can be up to 255 characters in length; however, certain restrictions apply to file and hierarchical directory names when they are located directly beneath either the root directory or MPE/iX groups. For more information about name restrictions, refer to the sections on files and directories.
For more information about HFS syntax and MPE syntax, refer to New Features of MPE/iX: Using the Hierarchical
File System (32650-90351).
