[Web4lib] Using suffixes for identifying formats

[Alnisa Allgood]

Not only do search engines, mobile apps and other services/app use the file
extension for identity purpose, but remember these docs will eventually end
up on someone's desktop or laptop computer and the best practice for naming
files on the desktop will also be included.

For practical purposes, the file extension should always be included. It's a
matter of visual identity and also serves as confirmation of expectation. If
I was expecting a PDF, then the .pdf confirms that my PDF reader will open
the file (and to a lesser extent adds validity that the file is in fact a
PDF).

You can view this guideline here:
http://ed.fnal.gov/lincon/tech_web_naming.shtml   Most of the newer
guidelines, assume that people already know how to properly name and share
files. But its a common mistake even on the desktop. You can name your file
"My Very Long Totally Unnecessary File" on your desktop, but if you plan to
share the file via email, ftp, or the web, it's always best to adjust to
"MyVeryLongTotallyUnnecessaryFile.pdf" or
"my-very-long-totally-unnecessary-file.pdf" Those same practices exist as
baselines for the web as well.

Alnisa
.....................

Alnisa Allgood
Executive Director
Nonprofit Tech
t. 608.241.3616
e. alnisa at nonprofit-tech.org


On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 1:55 AM, Isidro F. Aguillo <
isidro.aguillo at cchs.csic.es> wrote:

> Dear Thomas:
>
> Thank you for your comments. This is exactly the reason for asking for a
> "official" statement supporting one of the two views. My problem is that
> search engines are using the suffixes in some filtering options and many
> people thinks like you that adding suffix is not mandatory nor needed. I am
> searching for documents relating to mandates or recommendations if they
> exists.
>
>
> El 18/01/2011 18:07, Thomas Dowling escribió:
>
>  On 01/18/2011 04:08 AM, Isidro F. Aguillo wrote:
>>
>>> Dear colleagues:
>>>
>>> A large number of pdf files currently available from many repositories
>>> are
>>> not using the .pdf suffix at all. Although this is not a major problem I
>>> think this is a "bad practice" but I do not any document stating this.
>>> Could you help me on this issue?
>>>
>> Why do you think it's a bad practice?
>>
>> There are no files on the web - only data streams.  What *ought* to matter
>> is not ".pdf" at the end of the file name but "application/pdf" at the
>> start of the stream.
>>
>> That said, many browsers remain clueless about default file names for
>> saving and downloading (if it's PDF, "output.php" is not a good guess for
>> a "Save As..." option).  They benefit from a little handholding, so when I
>> spit PDF out of a script, I usually tack on "/Something_Sensible.pdf" at
>> the end of the URL.
>>
>>
>> Thomas Dowling
>> tdowling at ohiolink.edu
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Web4lib at webjunction.org
>> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> ****************************************
> Isidro F. Aguillo, HonPhD
> The Cybermetrics Lab
> CSIC
> Albasanz, 26-28. Madrid 28037. Spain
>
> isidro.aguillo at cchs.csic.es
> ****************************************
>
>
>
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