…in Internet Explorer 7!
But perhaps that’s redundant. “Dumb bugs” and “Internet Explorer” have long gone together like chocolate and peanut butter.
Anyway, one of my coworkers wanted to know why attempts to install Firefox always bombed out on her system. She was going to the Download page and clicking the “Run” button, which in reality actually means “download and then run.”
The Firefox executable has spaces in its name (it’s called something like “Install Firefox 3.0.6”). Now, as we all know, the Web turns spaces into %20, which is the hex ASCII code for a space.
So Explorer downloads the file as “Install%20%Firefox%20%3.0.6” but saves it as “Install Firefox 3.0.6”. Here’s where things go all hinkey:
It then runs the file “Install Firefox 3.0.6” but sets the path to the file as “Install%20Firefox%203.0.6”–which doesn’t work. When the installer attempts to run, it can’t locate its own built-in libraries because the Windows file path parsing APIs do not change “Install%20%Firefox%203.0.6” back into “Install Firefox 3.0.6”.
*rolls eyes*
Is that a bug, or merely IE7 looking out for its own best interests?
that was my initial reaction too. i wouldn’t be shocked if the “bug” was overlooked
I’d be inclined to think cynically if it weren’t for the fact that it happens on any executable download whose name contains a space. It’s easier for me to attribute this one to stupidity rather than malice; one function receives an escaped file name in a string somewhere and just blindly passes it on to another function (probably written by a different programmer) without looking at it.
Is that a bug, or merely IE7 looking out for its own best interests?
So how do you fix it? I think I’ve been having similar issues.
Hey there dayo! *waves*
Hi ya:) Have we met?
When I see your name, I want to sing “Here I come, and me want go home”
Highly deadly black tarantulas *nods*
*smiles* Long live Harry Belafonte!
After DragonCon — we went out to eat.
With this little guy…
I had a guess that that’s who you were. I didn’t recognize the LJ nick so I was wondering. Hope you’re doing well!
Download the file to disk and then run it manually. That seems to work.
So how do you fix it? I think I’ve been having similar issues.
Shouldn’t that be chocolate and peanut butter *with salmonella*???
*snerk*
Shouldn’t that be chocolate and peanut butter *with salmonella*???
Hey there dayo! *waves*
peanut butter! dude!!
okay, srsly, this is about to become a thing:).
i should just stop now, before your name becomes irrevocably entwined with the kinds of thoughts that definitely don’t go well with grad school and research 🙂
Mmm, peanut butter!
peanut butter! dude!!
okay, srsly, this is about to become a thing:).
i should just stop now, before your name becomes irrevocably entwined with the kinds of thoughts that definitely don’t go well with grad school and research 🙂
Wouldn’t this be restraint of trade? No wonder they make so much money at Micr20&s20%ft
Wouldn’t this be restraint of trade? No wonder they make so much money at Micr20&s20%ft
Oddly, last year CRA (IRS) has a similar problem with IE with the Tables on Disk. They’ve fixed it now by making all the files one big self-extracting zip file but it always struck me as odd that the federal government couldn’t figure out the problem themselves and had to have thousands of complaint calls.
Or IE could be made to not change things like that.
I dunno – just a thought.
It may be that the problem is new with IE 7, which might explain why they didn’t uncover it in testing. Of course, this presupposes they tested the Web site…
Oddly, last year CRA (IRS) has a similar problem with IE with the Tables on Disk. They’ve fixed it now by making all the files one big self-extracting zip file but it always struck me as odd that the federal government couldn’t figure out the problem themselves and had to have thousands of complaint calls.
Or IE could be made to not change things like that.
I dunno – just a thought.
that was my initial reaction too. i wouldn’t be shocked if the “bug” was overlooked
another
IE will parse a file and if it finds any code, it will attempt to execute it, regardless of the extension.
For example if you make a text (.txt) file and post it on a web server, Firefox will display the text as text, no matter what is in it. Firefox will only execute if the extension is correct (like .js)
If there is say a javascript or other code tag inside your text, IE will execute it, even if the file extension is .txt.
IIS, the sister to IE will do this as well. Ex. GIF files with embeded visual basic script.
Go mircosoft.
V.
Re: another
*blink*
Dear. God.
I don’t know WHAT to say to that, other than “OMFG what were they thinking??“
another
IE will parse a file and if it finds any code, it will attempt to execute it, regardless of the extension.
For example if you make a text (.txt) file and post it on a web server, Firefox will display the text as text, no matter what is in it. Firefox will only execute if the extension is correct (like .js)
If there is say a javascript or other code tag inside your text, IE will execute it, even if the file extension is .txt.
IIS, the sister to IE will do this as well. Ex. GIF files with embeded visual basic script.
Go mircosoft.
V.
Hi ya:) Have we met?
When I see your name, I want to sing “Here I come, and me want go home”
After DragonCon — we went out to eat.
With this little guy…
I had a guess that that’s who you were. I didn’t recognize the LJ nick so I was wondering. Hope you’re doing well!
Highly deadly black tarantulas *nods*
*smiles* Long live Harry Belafonte!
waa?
“Now, as we all know, the Web turns spaces into %20, which is the hex ASCII code for a space.” LOL …should I be embarrassed? :p
Re: waa?
Heh. It’s easy to see in action. Type an address like “www.this isanexample.com” into your Web browser and it’ll change to “www.this%20isanexample.com”. Web addresses can’t contain a space, so the browser sees the space and changes it to %20.
Re: waa?
You teach me so much, I hope my dry and far and in-between comments are payment enough.
waa?
“Now, as we all know, the Web turns spaces into %20, which is the hex ASCII code for a space.” LOL …should I be embarrassed? :p
I’d be inclined to think cynically if it weren’t for the fact that it happens on any executable download whose name contains a space. It’s easier for me to attribute this one to stupidity rather than malice; one function receives an escaped file name in a string somewhere and just blindly passes it on to another function (probably written by a different programmer) without looking at it.
Download the file to disk and then run it manually. That seems to work.
*snerk*
Mmm, peanut butter!
It may be that the problem is new with IE 7, which might explain why they didn’t uncover it in testing. Of course, this presupposes they tested the Web site…
Re: another
*blink*
Dear. God.
I don’t know WHAT to say to that, other than “OMFG what were they thinking??“
Re: waa?
Heh. It’s easy to see in action. Type an address like “www.this isanexample.com” into your Web browser and it’ll change to “www.this%20isanexample.com”. Web addresses can’t contain a space, so the browser sees the space and changes it to %20.
Re: waa?
You teach me so much, I hope my dry and far and in-between comments are payment enough.
That is a dumb bug, but I’m not sure it takes the crown from Civilization: Call to Power. In its unpatched state, using a nuclear weapon on another civ’s city is NOT considered an act of war. (Arguably dumber from the same program is that network games will unfailingly crash if any of the player’s names as inputted begin with the letter ‘Z’.) – ZM
Wow.
The “nuking a city isn’t an act of war” thing I’d be more inclined to call a misfeature than a bug–it’s not a coding error, the program’s doing exactly what the designer intended, but the design is broken because the designer didn’t think about that.
The network game crashing if a player’s name starts with the letter Z, on the other hand, is clearly a bug, and a pretty dumb one.
That is a dumb bug, but I’m not sure it takes the crown from Civilization: Call to Power. In its unpatched state, using a nuclear weapon on another civ’s city is NOT considered an act of war. (Arguably dumber from the same program is that network games will unfailingly crash if any of the player’s names as inputted begin with the letter ‘Z’.) – ZM
Wow.
The “nuking a city isn’t an act of war” thing I’d be more inclined to call a misfeature than a bug–it’s not a coding error, the program’s doing exactly what the designer intended, but the design is broken because the designer didn’t think about that.
The network game crashing if a player’s name starts with the letter Z, on the other hand, is clearly a bug, and a pretty dumb one.