[fsckboy]

computer people are used to rigid syntax rules because unambiguity, and they are willing to accept "line noise" syntax because they hate ambiguity even more.

as you point out, a .exe hiding behind a .zip is a problem caused by hiding extensions. and if we still lived in the 16bit DOS/Windows world, btw, MICROSOFT.COM would be a super problematic thing to click "especially-whether" the "extension" is shown or not (in 16 bit MSDOS, .COM is just as much a .EXE as .EXE is)

I'm just writing to extend your thought to the hiding of http:// and also www.

That's what introduces these problems, not a .ZIP tld, and I suspect/know it's the same people with this same type of thinking (whackamole problem solving) who think hiding http:// is a good idea (thereby causing the problem) and then suggest to fix any problems with more regulatory agencies to control what TLDs get created, what words we're allowed to use where, etc. (thereby causing new problems)

I'm not saying computer people "know better" and therefore invent systems that are tolerable to normies, I'm just saying I can't stand when normies are in charge of things that matter to me.

[int_19h]

The whole .COM/.EXE thing is not limited to 16-bit DOS and Windows. For a very long time now, Windows simply treats both extensions as the equivalent of chmod +x, but the way the binary is loaded does not depend on the specific extension. That is, if a .COM file has a 64-bit PE header, it will happily execute on Win11.

Indeed, a bunch of system binaries are themselves like that for historical reasons - CHCP.COM, FORMAT.COM, MORE.COM etc - because they originally had such names long ago in DOS, and someone somewhere might have a batch file that includes the extension.

[CodeHz]

Btw, you can even run a executable file which has been renamed to any extension (.txt or .whatever) in command line. (See PATHEXT env) It just recognized by the explorer (and shellexecute api’ third parameter). So that’s mean all files have “executable” permission by default.

[JohnFen]

> they originally had such names long ago in DOS

And DOS got them from CP/M before it.

[ChainOfFools]

but it would have had to be named MICROSOF.COM

[blackoil]

You'll get access codes for Building 7.

[ChainOfFools]

the one with the VIP lounge, right?