Dear GNU Linux and other operating systems that rarely use extensions on many files: please smarten up.
When searching for files on the internet, or information on programs without extensions, it is very hard to find information. If JoeUser were at least able to type in myprogram.elf or myprogram.ex, this would return him valuable search results on the program. Without that extension, the search results are useless. Especially with tools like "make" and "no" is it hard to find info. Especially it is confusing to see a README file without any extension that has execute permissions. Unix Virus anyone?
When looking for files on the disk, there are a bunch of executables without extensions, and a bunch of text files without extensions. How is this going to help JoeUser when "config" is a script but "config" is also an executable? Syntax highlighting (file color highlighting) in midnight commander is NOT an excuse.
Dear GNU Linux and other operating systems who practice this "no extensions" behaviour frequently: please smarten up. It would at least be nice to know my text files are text files, thank you very much.
Please encourage all users to name their files with extensions, i.e. ELF, TXT, etc. Is this something we just can't do, or is it just random stupidity that slipped and stuck hold once upon a time?
When searching for files on the hard drive, it would at least be nice to be able to search for text files only. Readme is a stupid name for a file. Please use readme.txt or readme.text. Please use extensions. Please use extensions.
If you find someone not using extensions, please tell them to use them. Point them to this page and tell them to pay attention to the red font.
Let's take some time to examine a real world example. JoeUser wishes to download "make" utility, because his apt-get is broken. He needs a binary make utility, not the sources. He looks up the word "make". Okay, so that was a mistake.. 2 minutes gone already. He now looks up the word "make.elf". No, that was a mistake, because some Gnu Linux users are stupid and don't name their files properly. There's no such thing as make.elf, it's just "make".
Make is one of the common words in the dictionary, did you not know? JoeUser now resorts (after wasting 30 minutes already) to look up "download make" "linux". Nothing comes up but source files for make. How many hours have been wasted now? Now please don't take this as a rant. I strongly believe that it is flat out stupid to name a file without an extension. This is not a rant, this is a fact. If you are reading this and you feel bad, I will forgive you. Everyone will forgive you. But please, just admit to and accept the wrong doing. Change is okay, if it's for the better. And in this case, it is definitely better to change your line of thinking.
Please inform users that extensions are good. I hope I don't come off too rude here, but the point needs to be made.
If you find it annoying to type make.elf or myprog.ex then please consider that "make" should launch make.elf automatically.. either through a link or by kernel design. If you must, call your file make.e. But better solution is to call it make.elf and launch it with make. The DOT key does not require a shift-key holddown anyway, so it's not that annoying to type, even if you had to.
Update:
Today I was looking for the command "no". How hard is it to find information for the command "no"? "no" is a network tuning command. I can't find any information on it. Gee I wonder why? Maybe because it isn't named "no.elf" or "no.exc" or "no.ex" .
I did end up finding some information on the "no" network utility. However, it took ages and I still don't have as much information as I would like. Here is some info I found for Debian: the "no" command.
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