>>> > A path is always a Unicode string, while a DB name can be an arbitrary >>> > binary blob. >>> >>> On many POSIX platforms, a path is a blob which does not contain >>> '\000'. These systems do not enforce Unicode encoding at all. >> >> My mistake. I was unaware. >> On those platforms, how do you type a path name into a terminal? > > There are some files which are not directly nameable. Many programs > support special sequences such as “Ctrl+V 3 7 7” to enter arbitrary > bytes, but that's not universal. Depending on the actual > implementation of the terminal, cut-and-paste of funny file names can > work, too. > > Older programs have trouble accessing such files even if the user > chooses them in a file selection dialog, but current version are > supposed to have been fixed (including OpenJDK, which took a > ridiculously long time). Beyond that, it's not much different from > dealing with file names in an unfamiliar script.
Interesting. So ultimately, there are always going to be things that you cannot type into your terminal directly.
