The ISO9660 standard was originally created to define rules for file naming and standardise the file structure of a cross platform CDROM, and to help ensure the compatibility of files moved between differing computer systems (eg Macs and PCs).
Subsequently, the rules have been used for naming web site pages and files. In recenet years these rules have evolved.
Before Windows 98 there was Windows 95 and before that Windows 3.1 and bare bones DOS. There are still some of Windows 3.1 users around. Windows 3.1 imposes strict rules on the naming of files known as the ISO-9660 naming conventions (Unix imposes similar rules). Those who ignored these conventions excluded 3.1 and Unix end-users from viewing their projects. It was essential that web site/multimedia project folders and files were named appropriately to enable the Windows 3.1 and Unix operating systems to "see" the files.
These were the initial file naming conventions.
ISO-9660 employs a three character extension at the end of a file name to determine the file type. Here are some extensions ...
Inevitably there are some exceptions. For example .html is allowed.
Today, the most common situation in which files will be viewed by differing computer systems is of course on the world wide web. To be certain of compatibility it is therefore essential that you observe current file naming rules when naming the following file types ...
Here are the current guidelines/rules ..
NOTE: If you are linking files which will be downloaded rather than viewed in the browser, you may not need to observe the rules so strictly, except that you should be careful to always include the file extension (eg .mp3).
Apple's old file naming system was called HFS (Hierarchical Filing System) and can happily "see" files named according to the ISO-9660 conventions but does not require them for itself. Files created on the Mac contain embedded information within their data/resource forks structure indicating the files origins and type.
Things have changed with the Unix based OSX. Use extensions and assume files handle like Windows.
The Unix operating system file naming system is similar to ISO-9660 but demands lower case characters only. If you want your multimedia and web projects to run on PCs, Macs and Unix systems you must acknowledge this simple rule when naming your files.
There will be occasions when your multimedia project files must be transferred between Macs and PCs. For example ...
Here are some of the extensions you should use:
To make an ISO 9660 cross platform disc, select this option in your CD burning software. You should observe the file naming conventions laid out below for all your files as laid out below.
Never include extensions when referring to linked external files and movies in Lingo scripts, although the files themselves must include extensions. For example ...
If a saved file is entitled menu.dir ... then call it ... movie "menu" in a lingo script.
When referring to the location of linked files in Lingo, Director developers should remember that the Mac uses colons (:) in pathnames, and Windows uses the backslash (\). Director 7 takes care of updating pathnames automatically when projects are ported cross-platform.