[Tutor] Help Noob Question

[Alan Gauld]

On 28/03/14 15:27, Chris “Kwpolska” Warrick wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 2:17 AM, Alan Gauld <alan.gauld at btinternet.com> wrote:

>> Because the desktop is hardly ever anywhere near where the cmd prompt lands
>> you.
>
> I just tested on my Windows 7 box.  It got me to C:\Users\Kwpolska.
> `cd Desktop` is enough.
> I also tested on a third-party’s XP box.  C:\Documents and
> Settings\[username].  `cd Desktop`, too (though it’s
> locale-dependent).
>
> Does not look far from the desktop, does it?

True when you first open the DOS box, but not after you've been using it 
for a while. I usually find I've moved around several folders and even 
several disks.

> Python) — or possibly some ultra-crazy corporate environments (but you
> should not be learning Python there — and if you are working there,
> you know how to work with the command line/Windows/source control
> already).

Both are true for me, and a large part of why I wouldn't put stuff on 
the desktop. For example my desktop was made up of my personal desktop, 
the PC all-user desktop and the corporate shared desktop (only when 
connected to the corporate network). Knowing which files/icons
belonged to which location was a nightmare.

> or just cd %USERPROFILE%.  Different drives would make you jump to
> %HOMEDRIVE% and then to %HOMEPATH%.

Which is true for files I create but not for other users of the PC or 
for shared desktops. And its still a lot to type compared to Unix (~) or 
using a drive root.

>>> Can't you make a symlink pointing to Desktop? (in C:\ or anywhere else)
>> You could, and that would help a little. But the problem on Windows is that
>> what appears on the Desktop *display* is an amalgam of (up to 3?) different
>> folders in the file system. So just because you see an icon on the 'desktop'
>> doesn't mean you actually know which folder it is in.
>
> But, for user-created files, it always goes to %USERPROFILE%/Desktop.

But which user? It may not be me that created the file.
And I may have deliberately copied/saved it to one of
the shared desktops a long time ago and forgotten.

> Create a folder on the desktop, or even in the home directory.

I agree a folder is more sensible and avoids the icon overkill but
the OP specifically had his *file* on the desktop.

> nicer place than the drive root — and a much modern way to store it
> (drive root sounds DOS-y)

I accept that but its still the shortest absolute path to type
on Windows! And if you are a programmer typing is what you wind
up doing a lot of!

-- 
Alan G
Author of the Learn to Program web site
http://www.alan-g.me.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alangauldphotos