On Sat, 27 Oct 2001, Olaf Seibert wrote:
> Can you make a full list of all ``some names like "aux"'' ?
>
> No, you can't. It varies, as people on BugTraq have observed. So there
> will be no end to this name avoiding operation, which makes it pointless
> and stupid.

Actually, I can. Well, okay, maybe I personally can't, but it is
possible to do. The people on BugTraq are concerned about random people
being able to crash Windows by referencing DOS device names. NetBSD is
concerned about making it possible to extract the source tree on a
Windows machine. In BugTraq's case, you have to worry about the standard
device names, plus any other devices that TSRs may create (but really,
does anyone still use TSRs?). In NetBSD's case, it's good enough to
avoid the standard DOS devices--if someone wants to build NetBSD on
their Windows system, but they have some TSR that creates an "AWK"
device, they'll just have to do without it.

FWIW, the standard devices that I can think of off the top of my head
are CON, NUL, AUX, PRN, LPT*, COM*, CLOCK$. There are probably a few
more, but the list isn't endless.