<s>
A	O
path	O
is	O
a	O
string	O
of	O
characters	O
used	O
to	O
uniquely	O
identify	O
a	O
location	O
in	O
a	O
directory	B-Architecture
structure	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
composed	O
by	O
following	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
tree	I-Application
hierarchy	O
in	O
which	O
components	O
,	O
separated	O
by	O
a	O
delimiting	B-Algorithm
character	O
,	O
represent	O
each	O
directory	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
delimiting	B-Algorithm
character	O
is	O
most	O
commonly	O
the	O
slash	O
("/"	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
backslash	O
character	O
("\"	O
)	O
,	O
or	O
colon	O
(	O
 "	O
:	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
though	O
some	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
may	O
use	O
a	O
different	O
delimiter	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paths	O
are	O
used	O
extensively	O
in	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
to	O
represent	O
the	O
directory/file	O
relationships	O
common	O
in	O
modern	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
are	O
essential	O
in	O
the	O
construction	O
of	O
Uniform	O
Resource	O
Locators	O
(	O
URLs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multics	B-Application
first	O
introduced	O
a	O
hierarchical	B-Application
file	I-Application
system	I-Application
with	O
directories	B-Application
(	O
separated	O
by	O
"	O
>	O
"	O
)	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1960s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
1970	O
,	O
Unix	B-Application
introduced	O
the	O
slash	O
character	O
("/"	O
)	O
as	O
its	O
directory	B-Application
separator	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1981	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
DOS	I-Application
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MS-DOS	B-Application
1.0	O
did	O
not	O
support	O
file	B-Application
directories	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
a	O
major	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
utility	O
commands	O
packaged	O
with	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
1.0	O
came	O
from	O
IBM	O
and	O
their	O
command	B-Application
line	I-Application
syntax	O
used	O
the	O
slash	O
character	O
as	O
a	O
'	O
switch	O
 '	O
prefix	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
dir	B-Device
/w	O
runs	O
the	O
dir	B-Device
command	O
with	O
the	O
wide	O
list	O
format	O
option	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
use	O
of	O
slash	O
can	O
still	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
command	O
interface	O
under	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
contrast	O
,	O
Unix	B-Application
uses	O
the	O
dash	O
("-"	O
)	O
character	O
as	O
a	O
command	B-Application
line	I-Application
switch	O
prefix	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
directory	B-Application
support	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
in	O
version	O
2.0	O
,	O
"	O
/	O
"	O
was	O
kept	O
as	O
the	O
switch	O
prefix	O
character	O
for	O
backwards	O
compatibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
chose	O
the	O
backslash	O
character	O
("\"	O
)	O
as	O
a	O
directory	B-Application
separator	I-Application
,	O
which	O
looks	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
slash	O
character	O
,	O
though	O
more	O
modern	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
are	O
slash-agnostic	O
,	O
allowing	O
mixage	O
of	O
both	O
types	O
of	O
slashes	O
in	O
a	O
path.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx1	O
{{Cite	O
web|url	O
=	O
=	O
Why	O
is	O
the	O
DOS	B-Device
path	O
character	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
absolute	O
or	O
full	B-Application
path	I-Application
points	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
location	O
in	O
a	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
the	O
current	B-Application
working	I-Application
directory	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
do	O
that	O
,	O
it	O
must	O
include	O
the	O
root	B-Application
directory	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
contrast	O
,	O
a	O
relative	O
path	O
starts	O
from	O
some	O
given	O
working	B-Application
directory	I-Application
,	O
avoiding	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
full	O
absolute	B-Application
path	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
filename	B-Device
can	O
be	O
considered	O
as	O
a	O
relative	O
path	O
based	O
at	O
the	O
current	B-Application
working	I-Application
directory	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
working	B-Application
directory	I-Application
is	O
not	O
the	O
file	O
's	O
parent	B-Application
directory	I-Application
,	O
a	O
file	B-Error_Name
not	I-Error_Name
found	I-Error_Name
error	I-Error_Name
will	O
result	O
if	O
the	O
file	O
is	O
addressed	O
by	O
its	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
Shell	B-Application
Rootdirectory	O
Directoryseparator	O
Currentdirectory	O
Parentdirectory	O
Homedirectory	O
Examples	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
(	O
incl	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
macOS	B-Operating_System
)	O
Unix	B-Application
shell	I-Application
/	O
/	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
</s>
<s>
</s>
<s>
..	B-Application
C:\user\docs\Letter.txtA:Picture.jpg\\SERVER01\USER\docs\Letter.txt	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
cmd.exe	B-Device
\	O
(	O
relative	O
to	O
current	B-Application
working	I-Application
directory	I-Application
root	O
)	O
or	O
[drive_letter]:\or	O
\\[server]\[sharename]\or	O
\\?\[drive_spec]:\or	O
\\?\UNC\[server]\[sharename]\or	O
\\.\[physical_device]\Naming	O
Files	O
,	O
Paths	O
,	O
and	O
Namespaces	O
/	O
or	O
\,	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft.PowerShell.Security	O
\Certificate::CurrentUser\	O
TOPS-20	B-Operating_System
DCL	B-Operating_System
[	O
device	B-Application
name	I-Application
:	O
]	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
[]IN_THIS_DIR.COM	O
;	O
</s>
<s>
</s>
<s>
note	O
:	O
&	O
,	O
%	O
and	O
@	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
reference	O
the	O
root	O
of	O
the	O
current	O
user	O
,	O
the	O
library	O
and	O
the	O
current	O
(	O
working	O
)	O
directory	B-Application
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
filesystems	B-Application
with	O
filename	B-Device
extensions	O
are	O
mounted	O
,	O
'	O
.	O
'	O
</s>
<s>
\	O
~	O
//node/home/user/docs/Letter.txt./inthisdir	O
\\greatgrandparent~rcinfo	O
MenuetOS	B-Device
CMD	B-Device
/	O
/	O
Stratus	B-General_Concept
VOS	I-General_Concept
VOS	O
command-lineinterpreter	O
%[system_name]#[module_name]>	O
>	O
<	O
%sysname	O
#module1	O
>SubDir>AnotherDir	O
NonStopKernel	O
TACLTandem	O
AdvancedCommand	O
Language	O
No	O
root	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
no	O
parentdirectory	O
\NODE.$DISK.SUBVOL.FILE\NODE.$DEVICE\NODE.$DEVICE.#SUBDEV.QUALIFIER	O
CP/M	B-Application
CCP	O
[	O
drive	O
letter	O
:	O
]	O
no	O
directory	B-Application
support	O
,	O
just	O
user	O
areas	O
0	O
–	O
F	O
A:LETTER.TXT	O
GS/OS	B-Application
:[	O
volume	O
name ]	O
:	O
or	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	O
and	O
Korean	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
may	O
often	O
display	O
the	O
'	O
¥	O
 '	O
character	O
or	O
the	O
'	O
₩	O
 '	O
character	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
separator	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Very	O
early	O
versions	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
replaced	O
the	O
backslash	O
with	O
these	O
glyphs	O
on	O
the	O
display	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
display	O
them	O
by	O
programs	O
that	O
only	O
understood	O
7-bit	B-Protocol
ASCII	I-Protocol
(	O
other	O
characters	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
square	O
brackets	O
were	O
replaced	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
see	O
ISO	O
646	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Codepage	O
932	O
(	O
Japanese	O
Shift	O
JIS	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Codepage	O
949	O
(	O
Korean	O
)	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
even	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
supported	O
the	O
8-bit	O
ISO-8859-1	O
character	O
set	O
which	O
has	O
the	O
Yen	O
sign	O
at	O
U+00A5	O
,	O
and	O
modern	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
supports	O
Unicode	O
which	O
has	O
the	O
Won	O
sign	O
at	O
U+20A9	O
,	O
much	O
software	O
will	O
continue	O
to	O
display	O
backslashes	O
found	O
in	O
ASCII	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
this	O
way	O
to	O
preserve	O
backwards	O
compatibility.Sorting	O
it	O
all	O
Out	O
:	O
When	O
is	O
a	O
backslash	O
not	O
a	O
backslash	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
,	O
as	O
a	O
derivative	O
of	O
UNIX	B-Application
,	O
uses	O
UNIX	B-Application
paths	O
internally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
to	O
preserve	O
compatibility	O
for	O
software	O
and	O
familiarity	O
for	O
users	O
,	O
many	O
portions	O
of	O
the	O
GUI	O
switch	O
"	O
/	O
"	O
typed	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
"	O
:	O
"	O
internally	O
,	O
and	O
switch	O
them	O
back	O
when	O
displaying	O
filenames	B-Device
(	O
a	O
"	O
:	O
"	O
entered	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
also	O
changed	O
into	O
"	O
/	O
"	O
but	O
the	O
inverse	O
translation	O
does	O
not	O
happen	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
programming	O
languages	O
use	O
the	O
path	O
representation	O
of	O
the	O
underlying	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
:	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
direct	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
paths	O
can	O
hinder	O
the	O
portability	O
of	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
support	O
portable	O
programs	O
Java	B-Language
uses	O
File.separator	O
to	O
distinguish	O
between	O
/	O
and	O
\	O
separated	O
paths	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seed7	B-Language
has	O
a	O
different	O
approach	O
for	O
the	O
path	O
representation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Seed7	B-Language
all	O
paths	O
use	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
path	O
convention	O
,	O
independent	O
of	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under	O
windows	B-Application
a	O
mapping	O
takes	O
place	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
UNC	O
,	O
short	O
for	O
Universal	O
Naming	O
Convention	O
or	O
Uniform	O
Naming	O
Convention	O
,	O
specifies	O
a	O
common	O
syntax	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
location	O
of	O
a	O
network	O
resource	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
shared	O
file	O
,	O
directory	B-Application
,	O
or	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
UNC	O
syntax	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
systems	O
has	O
the	O
generic	O
form	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
interfaces	O
also	O
allow	O
or	O
require	O
UNC	O
syntax	O
for	O
WebDAV	B-Protocol
share	O
access	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
URL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
interfaces	O
also	O
accept	O
the	O
"	O
Long	O
UNC	O
"	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
uses	O
the	O
following	O
types	O
of	O
paths	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
path	O
points	O
to	O
the	O
local	O
file	O
namespace	O
and	O
is	O
a	O
similar	O
one	O
that	O
points	O
to	O
the	O
local	O
DOS	B-Device
device	O
namespace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
format	O
is	O
also	O
the	O
"	O
raw	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
uninterpreted	O
"	O
path	O
,	O
since	O
it	O
sends	O
paths	O
straight	O
to	O
the	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
without	O
converting	O
to	O
and	O
interpreting	O
names	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
NT	O
object	O
manager	O
\\	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
?	O
\-prefixed	O
paths	O
(	O
global	O
DOS	B-Device
namespace	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
prior	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
,	O
only	O
the	O
APIs	O
that	O
accept	O
"	O
long	O
"	O
device	O
paths	O
could	O
accept	O
more	O
than	O
260	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
shell	B-Application
in	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
explorer.exe	B-Protocol
,	O
allows	O
path	B-Application
names	I-Application
up	O
to	O
248	O
characters	O
long	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
UNCs	O
start	O
with	O
two	O
backslashes	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
backslash	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
string	O
escaping	O
and	O
in	O
regular	B-Language
expressions	I-Language
,	O
this	O
can	O
result	O
in	O
extreme	O
cases	O
of	O
leaning	B-Language
toothpick	I-Language
syndrome	I-Language
:	O
an	O
escaped	O
string	O
for	O
a	O
regular	B-Language
expression	I-Language
matching	O
a	O
UNC	O
begins	O
with	O
8	O
backslashes	O
–	O
\\\\\\\\	O
–	O
because	O
the	O
string	O
and	O
regular	B-Language
expression	I-Language
both	O
require	O
escaping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
simplified	O
by	O
using	O
raw	O
strings	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
C#'s	O
@	O
"	O
\\\\	O
 "	O
or	O
Python	O
's	O
r'\\\\'	O
,	O
or	O
regular	B-Language
expression	I-Language
literals	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
Perl	O
's	O
qr{\\\\}	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
applications	O
on	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
scp	B-Protocol
,	O
rcp	B-Application
and	O
rsync	B-Application
)	O
use	O
resource	O
definitions	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
worked	O
example	O
discusses	O
the	O
behavior	O
of	O
a	O
Unix-style	B-Operating_System
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
as	O
it	O
would	O
appear	O
from	O
a	O
terminal	O
or	O
terminal	O
application	O
(	O
command-line	B-Application
window	O
)	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Attached	O
to	O
a	O
current	B-Application
working	I-Application
directory	I-Application
(	O
cwd	B-Application
)	O
of	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
wants	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
current	B-Application
working	I-Application
directory	I-Application
to	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
moment	O
,	O
the	O
relative	O
path	O
for	O
the	O
desired	O
directory	B-Application
can	O
be	O
represented	O
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
the	O
absolute	B-Application
path	I-Application
for	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Given	O
bobapples''	O
as	O
the	O
relative	O
path	O
for	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
wanted	O
,	O
the	O
following	O
may	O
be	O
typed	O
at	O
the	O
command	B-Device
prompt	I-Device
to	O
change	O
the	O
current	B-Application
working	I-Application
directory	I-Application
to	O
bobapples	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
dots	O
(""	O
)	O
point	O
upwards	O
in	O
the	O
hierarchy	O
,	O
to	O
indicate	O
the	O
parent	B-Application
directory	I-Application
;	O
one	O
dot	O
(""	O
)	O
represents	O
the	O
current	B-Application
directory	I-Application
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
can	O
be	O
components	O
of	O
a	O
complex	O
relative	O
path	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
""	O
)	O
,	O
where	O
""	O
alone	O
or	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
component	O
of	O
such	O
a	O
relative	O
path	O
represents	O
the	O
working	B-Application
directory	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Using	O
""	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
""	O
in	O
the	O
current	B-Application
working	I-Application
directory	I-Application
can	O
sometimes	O
usefully	O
distinguish	O
it	O
from	O
a	O
resource	O
""	O
to	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
a	O
default	O
directory	B-Application
or	O
by	O
other	O
means	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
to	O
view	O
a	O
specific	O
version	O
of	O
a	O
manual	B-Protocol
page	I-Protocol
instead	O
of	O
the	O
one	O
installed	O
in	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Contrary	O
to	O
popular	O
belief	O
,	O
the	O
Windows	B-Library
system	I-Library
API	I-Library
accepts	O
slash	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
all	O
the	O
above	O
Unix	B-Application
examples	O
should	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
many	O
applications	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
interpret	O
a	O
slash	O
for	O
other	O
purposes	O
or	O
treat	O
it	O
as	O
an	O
invalid	O
character	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
require	O
you	O
to	O
enter	O
backslash	O
–	O
notably	O
the	O
cmd.exe	B-Device
shell	B-Application
(	O
often	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
terminal	O
"	O
as	O
it	O
typically	O
runs	O
in	O
a	O
terminal	O
window	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
that	O
many	O
other	O
shells	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
tcsh	B-Language
and	O
Windows	B-Application
PowerShell	I-Application
,	O
allow	O
the	O
slash	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
ambiguity	O
ensues	O
,	O
because	O
colon	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
valid	O
character	O
in	O
an	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
filename	B-Device
,	O
and	O
thus	O
one	O
cannot	O
have	O
a	O
file	O
called	O
"	O
A	O
:	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
current	B-Application
directory	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
examples	O
show	O
MS-DOS/Windows	O
-style	O
paths	O
,	O
with	O
backslashes	O
used	O
to	O
match	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
syntax	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
path	O
points	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
with	O
the	O
name	O
,	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
,	O
which	O
in	O
turn	O
is	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
root	B-Application
directory	I-Application
of	O
the	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
path	O
refers	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
called	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
parent	B-Application
directory	I-Application
of	O
the	O
current	B-Application
directory	I-Application
on	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
path	O
denotes	O
a	O
file	O
called	O
located	O
in	O
directory	B-Application
which	O
in	O
turn	O
is	O
located	O
in	O
directory	B-Application
which	O
is	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
current	B-Application
directory	I-Application
of	O
the	O
current	O
drive	O
(	O
since	O
this	O
example	O
gives	O
no	O
drive-specification	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
rather	O
simple	O
path	O
points	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
named	O
File.txt	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
current	B-Application
directory	I-Application
(	O
since	O
the	O
path	O
lacks	O
a	O
directory-specification	O
)	O
on	O
the	O
current	O
drive	O
(	O
since	O
no	O
drive	O
specification	O
is	O
present	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
path	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
first	O
serial	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
(	O
COM1	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
example	O
uses	O
a	O
path	O
containing	O
slashes	O
as	O
directory	B-Application
separator	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
path	O
containing	O
forward	O
slashes	O
often	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
surrounded	O
by	O
double	O
quotes	O
to	O
disambiguate	O
it	O
from	O
command	B-Application
line	I-Application
switches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
note	O
:	O
CD	B-Application
does	O
not	O
work	O
this	O
way	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
CD	B-Application
"	O
[	O
drive	O
letter ]	O
:/Program	O
Files	O
"	O
will	O
only	O
work	O
from	O
the	O
root	O
( [	O
drive	O
letter ]	O
:\	O
)	O
directory	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
exception	O
:	O
Use	O
the	O
/D	O
switch	O
to	O
change	O
current	O
drive	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
changing	O
current	B-Application
directory	I-Application
for	O
a	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
from	O
a	O
root	B-Application
folder	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
relative	O
path	O
to	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
name	O
specified	O
with	O
forward	O
slashes	O
you	O
will	O
get	O
the	O
following	O
error	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
setting	O
environment	O
variables	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
sometimes	O
necessary	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
path	O
that	O
does	O
not	O
contain	O
spaces	O
in	O
it	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
defined	O
as	O
"	O
C:\Program	O
Files	O
Java	B-Language
...	O
can	O
cause	O
scripts	O
to	O
halt	O
when	O
they	O
encounter	O
the	O
space	O
in	O
the	O
path	B-Application
name	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
get	O
the	O
eight-character	O
name	O
Windows	B-Application
assigns	O
to	O
any	O
directory	B-Application
for	O
substitution	O
in	O
environment	O
variables	O
,	O
use	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
listing	O
command	O
with	O
the	O
/x	O
option	O
one	O
level	O
up	O
from	O
the	O
target	O
directory	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
the	O
following	O
will	O
get	O
you	O
the	O
eight	O
character	O
name	O
for	O
all	O
directories	B-Application
directly	O
under	O
root	O
:	O
</s>
