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Re: [OT] Magic numbers



Lisi wrote:
GNU implementation of file "knows" some magic numbers and applies them to
give a best guess as to what an unkown file is.

Thanks, Andy - yes, it told me what the files were, and its best guess was good. (I should know - I created the files!)
But no actual magic numbers. :-(

In Windows world, you have file extensions, no magic....

In Mac world, the file/directory entry has, I believe, application identifiers.

In Linux world, it is not worked out by extensions or extra attributes on file/directory inodes, but rather on the content of the file. The "magic" numbers might be similar in way of use as to the IANA ports or services -- that is, the magic numbers are arbitrary. Content is king to evaluate the so called "magic".

Cheers

--
Kind Regards
AndrewM

Andrew McGlashan
Broadband Solutions now including VoIP


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