[darcs-users] double dots are not allowed in filenames?

[Yitzchak Gale]

Eric Y. Kow wrote:
>> ...the right way to go about this: context.

David Roundy wrote:
> ...we should treat paths which are inherently
> relative to the repository... distinctly from URLs.
> We still have a challenge if colon appears in the path
> to a repository, but
> *that* is definitely closer to unavoidable.

That syntax for specifying remote files
comes from rcp, whose man page says:

   Each file or directory argument is
   either a remote file name of the form ``rname at rhost:path'',
   or a local file name
   (containing no `:' characters, or a `/' before any `:'s).

Perhaps darcs should follow that convention.

Of course, the situation for darcs is a bit more
complex, because the "file" might also be a URL.
How does darcs distinguish a URL from an rcp-style
remote file? (E.g., what if there is a host on my
local network whose hostname is "ftp" or "http"?)
Am I correct that not every legal URL conforming
to RFC 3986 can be accepted?

Another observation: "file:" URLs solve the original poster's
problem of ':' in file names even in a context where
remote files can occur, since "file:" URLs are allowed to
contain ':'. Does darcs support this?

-Yitz