Re: git on MacOSX and files with decomposed utf-8 file names

From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Date: Jan 17, 2008, 00:19 UTC
Message-ID: <alpine.LFD.1.00.0801161617070.2806@woody.linux-foundation.org>
In-Reply-To: <85ir1tpbk8.fsf@lola.goethe.zz>

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008, David Kastrup wrote:

> 
> Actually, there is no good reason for non-normalized forms (deficient
> software not able to deal with some of the normalized forms is not a
> good reason: such software should be fixed).

I'd actually agree, and it then boils down to the second sane choice I gave earlier:

 - don't accept data you don't like

if you don't like non-normalized names, don't create them. That's fine.

But don't go normalizing them behind the users back.

> Yup.  But that does not mean that normalization is a bad idea.  It is
> just that the filesystem is not the right place for it.

Oh, absolutely. You can - and often should - normalize in the application (or have libraries to do it for you).

Not silently and behind peoples backs.

		Linus