Directory capacity

Is there a simple API way to determine the maximum number of objects that may be in a directory?

I’m not interested in RISC OS 5 limits, I’m specifically interested in detecting the presence of older format 77-object limits.

I seem to recall the number of heads is related to the directory structure, so possibly get the disc description and check that?

I don’t think there is such an API. You just create objects until there is that dreaded “directory full” error. After all, there are formats out there that have different limits depending on the formatting parameters, or formats that only have a limit in the root directory, or…isn’t there also an old beeb format that only allowed 47 entries?

IIRC, there are also limits in E+ format, but they somehow depend on filename lengths used inside the directory, so there is not “that one limit number” in new filecore world.

Is there any way, on modern hardware, to fake the directory limitations from before? HostFS won’t do it, so emulation is not an issue; and the modern formats as used on the Pi don’t do it either.
I can’t use A310Emu because internet access is a necessity…

I can’t use A310Emu because internet access is a necessity…

Think back to your Argonet user days and what the level of support for Internet access was on RO.
local Network yes, Internet, use third party stack. Are you trying to model an extreme edge case?

If you wanted to code something yourself, hook into FileV and return the appropriate error if the directory entry count exceeds your soft limit.

Are you trying to model an extreme edge case?

No, just wonder how !Manga would behave on 3.6/3.7 when the cache directory fills up. Not a big worry, as I doubt anybody is actually using such a setup. More of a “wonder what?” question.

Is there any way, on modern hardware, to fake the directory limitations from before?

No need to fake it. Just run HForm and answer “no” when it asks if you want to use long filenames.

Long filenames and >77 items per directory were both introduced at the same time as part of the new FileCore format.