[R] Re: maptools, filename writing shapefiles

[Patrick Giraudoux H]

>says (p. 6): "All file names adhere to the 8.3 naming convention. The main
>file, the index file, and the dBASE file have the same prefix. The prefix
>must start with an alphanumeric character (aZ, 09), followed by zero or up
>to seven characters (aZ, 09, _, -). The suffix for the main file is .shp.
>The suffix for the index file is .shx. The suffix for the dBASE table is
>.dbf."

So, the number of characters was the trouble origin (... up to 7 
characters). Easy to manage when known. This also means that ESRI 
ArcGISdoes not itself comply to the standard since one can use much more 
than 7 characters naming shapefiles from there....

Thanks a lot for maptools (those fonctions to write shapefiles are really 
useful) and the clarification.

All the best,

Patrick