When and how did the four digit file extension enter the MS world?

[yoda313]

Ok I've been curious what version of windows did the four digit file extension become a reality?

I know obviously dos was the 8.3 format for files. I thought the 3 digit extension was the main base for windows for quite awhile. Was it win2000/ME that introduced the four digit extension?

I remember the first time I was exposed to it was when I started seeing .divx files. I thought that wasn't correct because it was four digits. This was quite awhile ago now but I still don't know when four digit files were possible for windows.

That wasn't introduced way back for windows 95 was it? Or was that a NT platform innovation?

EDIT - I do know that win95 was the first to allow more than 8 digits for a first file name. Though of course even now any that are longer than 8 have the little ~ placeholder in the 8th digit spot when viewed in a dos box.

[jagabo]

Long file names eliminated the 3 character extension limit. It started with Win95 as far as I can recall.

<edit>
Wikipedia says it started with NT 3.5 in 1994: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_filename
</edit>

[yoda313]

Long file names eliminated the 3 character extension limit. It started with Win95 as far as I can recall.

<edit>
Wikipedia says it started with NT 3.5 in 1994: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_filename
</edit>

Ok so it was at the same time as the long file names. Thanks. I guess it just took longer for the longer file extension limit to be utilized. Or more likely it took me more time to encounter it.

Thanks jagabo.

[cyclometric]

dblpost, sorry!

[cyclometric]

Yeah . . . you should feel lucky you haven't encountered the ridiculous roundabouts and workarounds programmers have to deal with and create to support the long file names sometimes. Even (or sometimes especially) in "native" windows subsystems, like messaging, power, device drivers, install/uninstall programs, and the like. And programmers often don't even realize the issues are there until testers discover big fat glaring bugs (which programmers and program managers like to call "features", heha) and point out why it's a program and how they gotta fix that sh@#ß.