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From: Antony Blakey <antony.blakey@gmail.com>
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Subject: Re: slash escaping (was 0.9.0 Release)
Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:14:35 +1030
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On 13/12/2008, at 7:40 AM, Damien Katz wrote:

> The decision to limit names db and design doc names is a pragmatic =20
> one, it simplifies things greatly. CouchDB is full of things that =20
> could be better. Patches welcome.

OK, this code now works for me in a client:

   require 'rubygems'
   require 'json'
   require 'couchrest'
   require 'cgi'

   db_name =3D CGI.escape("Ser vices/new - =E2=88=9E=E0=A4=B6=E0=A4=9B=D8=BA=
=D8=B4=EA=B0=A5=EA=B1=B8=E3=83=9A=E3=83=9C")
   db =3D CouchRest.database!("http://localhost:5984/" + db_name)

   db_name =3D CGI.escape("ser vices/new - =E2=88=9E=E0=A4=B6=E0=A4=9B=D8=BA=
=D8=B4=EA=B0=A5=EA=B1=B8=E3=83=9A=E3=83=9C")
   db =3D CouchRest.database!("http://localhost:5984/" + db_name)

And this URL in Safari:

   http://127.0.0.1:5984/Ser+vices%2Fnew+-+=E2=88=9E=E0=A4=B6=E0=A4=9B=D8=BA=
=D8=B4=EA=B0=A5=EA=B1=B8=E3=83=9A=E3=83=9C

returns this:

   {"db_name":"Ser vices/new - \u221e\u0936\u091b\u063a=20
\u0634\uac25\uac78\u30da\u30dc","doc_count":1,"doc_del_count":=20
0,"update_seq":1,"purge_seq":0,"compact_running":false,"disk_size":=20
14365}

The filesystem looks like this:

   Ser+vices%2Fnew+-+%E2%88%9E%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%9B%D8%BA%D8%B4%EA=20
%B0%A5%EA%B1%B8%E3%83%9A%E3%83%9C-lhxj+E81IP9xm+0ssUSsQ=3D=3D.couch
   ser+vices%2Fnew+-+%E2%88%9E%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%9B%D8%BA%D8%B4%EA=20
%B0%A5%EA%B1%B8%E3%83%9A%E3%83%9CN2JWdnNzkyqvutQ1OZeKUw=3D=3D.couch

The Base64 (filename variant) of the MD5 is appended to deal with case =20=

sensitivity. I haven't investigated using platform-attribute-specific =20=

code, which would allow filenames to include Unicode characters if the =20=

OS supports that and therefore be much shorter. Presuming that files =20
aren't intended to be portable between systems. Note that filenames =20
for ascii names don't look nearly as ugly - not that I consider that =20
to be a problem.

Dealing with view filenames can be done similarly.

However, I think a better solution is something like this:

   N2JWdnNzkyqvutQ1OZeKUw=3D=3D.couchdb/
     name     # a UTF-8 file containing the name of the database
     data     # what was previously in the .couchdb file
     temp     # what was in the .*_temp file
     lhxj+E81IP9xm+0ssUSsQ=3D=3D.viewgroup/
       name     # a UTF-8 file containing the name of the view
       data     # what was previously in the .view file

I suggest using the MD5 because it can be computed from the names. =20
Alternatively they could be simple integers, which IMO would be a =20
slightly better solution, but a more pervasive change because most of =20=

the functions currently take names. Using integers would avoid even =20
the vanishingly small chance of collision.

I know the database name is in the data file, but all of the code =20
requires the name before reading the file, and changing that would be =20=

a major patch. Furthermore, having the name accessible ensures that =20
sysadmin tasks are still easy (and scriptable). I think this is a =20
better system than the current one because filesystem containment is =20
used rather than filename composition e.g. a database is entirely =20
contained in a directory.

Apart from the 'name' files, this is a largely mechanistic change.

Opinions?

Antony Blakey
-------------
CTO, Linkuistics Pty Ltd
Ph: 0438 840 787

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a =20
faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant =20
and has forgotten the gift.
   -- Albert Einstein