Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
• File or directory names can be up to 64 Unicode characters (128 bytes) in length.
• Directory names can have extensions.
• Directories can be deeper than eight levels.
• Multisession recording is inherently supported.
Tip
Because Joliet supports a shorter path than Windows 9x and newer versions, you might have
difficulties mastering a Joliet-format CD that contains extremely long pathnames. I recommend
you shorten folder names in the file structure you create with the CD mastering software to
avoid problems. Unfortunately, some CD mastering programs don't warn you about a pathname
that is too long until after the burning process starts. If your CD mastering program offers an
option to validate your disc structure, use this option to determine whether you need to shorten
folder names. Some CD mastering programs will provide a suggested short name and shorten
too-long folder names for you.
Due to backward-compatibility provisions, systems that don't support the Joliet extensions (such as
older DOS systems) should still be capable of reading the disc. However, it will be interpreted as an
ISO 9660 format using the short names instead.
Note
A bit of trivia: “Chicago” was the code name used by Microsoft for Windows 95. Joliet is the
town outside of Chicago where Jake was locked up in the movie
The Blues Brothers
.
Universal Disk Format
UDF is a file system created by the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) as an industry-
standard format for use on optical media, but it can also be used by other types of removable-media
drives, such as the Iomega REV drives. UDF has several advantages over the older ISO 9660 file
system but is most noted because it is designed to work with packet writing, a technique for writing
small amounts of data to an optical disc, treating it much like a standard magnetic drive. The UDF file
system allows long filenames up to 255 characters per name. There have been several versions of
UDF, with most packet-writing software using UDF 1.5 or later. Packet-writing software such as
Roxio's DirectCD and Drag-to-Disc, Ahead Software's InCD, and Veritas and Sonic Solutions' DLA
use the UDF file system. However, standard optical drives, drivers, and OSs such as DOS can't read
UDF-formatted discs. Recordable drives can read them, but regular optical drives must conform to
the MultiRead specification (see the section “
MultiRead Specifications
,” earlier in this chapter) to be
capable of reading UDF discs.
After you are sure that your drive can read UDF, you must check the OS. Most OSs can't read UDF
natively—the support has to be added via a driver. Typically, such a driver is included with the
software that comes with most CD-RW and rewritable DVD drives.
If you don't have a UDF reader, you can download one from the following websites:
• Get UDF Reader 2.5 for Windows XP from
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/UDF_Reader
.
• Get UDF Volume Reader 7.1.0.95 for Windows 9x through XP from
