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Your Blog, And Blogger, And FTP Publishing #2

In the server world, there are two dominant platforms- Microsoft (one company, one product) and Linux / Unix (many companies, different products). There are dozens of differences between the two operating systems. One of the most obvious, and yet most easily overlooked, is case sensitivity of file names.

In a Microsoft operating system, a file named "Test.Txt" is treated as the same file as "test.txt". In Unix, you can have those files, and more, in the same folder.
  • test.txt
  • Test.Txt
  • TEST.txt
  • TEST.Txt
are all different files, on a Unix server.

The issue of case preservation (Windows) vs case sensitivity (Unix) is a challenge, when moving files between a server of one world and a server of the other world. And one instance of this issue being relevant is

- -

wait for it

- -

Blogger publishing by FTP.

Blogger FTP publishing involves moving files, from Blogger servers to third party servers. Blogger servers, being of one world, have to move files to other servers. The web server universe contains servers of both worlds, so the Blogger FTP process has to allow for the need to move files to either a Microsoft, or a Linux / Unix, server.

To move files properly, to properly add or replace like named files, and to allow for case preservation or case sensitivity, as appropriate, the Blogger FTP process has to have 2 sets of rules.
  • Linux / Unix: Observe case in file names.
  • Microsoft: Preserve case in file names.


Read the HP white paper, Case Sensitivity versus Case Preservation in CIFS Server, for an in depth explanation of the challenge involved here.

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