From the documentation for something as mundane as System.Environment.GetCommandLineArgs:

Backslash characters (REVERSE SOLIDUS (U+005C)) followed by a quotation mark are interpreted specially. If 2n backslashes are followed by a quotation mark, the command-line argument contains n backslashes, and quoted text begins if previous text was unquoted or ends if previous text was quoted. If 2n+1 backslashes are followed by a quotation mark, the command-line argument contains n backslashes and a literal quotation mark. If n backslashes are not followed by a quotation mark, the command-line argument contains n backslashes.

I do not have the slightest idea what I read there.

Note to self: Try and come up with examples:

- how it can be used

- where it should be used

- why it would be used

I have to use an innocent Microsoft utility that doesn't do much more than code-sign a binary.

However, what I find when searching for the right version, makes me scared and afraid. Afraid of the non-linearity of time, file size and version numbers.

To make matters worse, the binary to sign is built for .NET Framework 1.1.

For now, I make sure I'm using the Windows SDK Command Prompt to get consistent environment variables, and the correct Path in particular.

Fingers crossed...

Find out. It was not much last time I looked.

WER is Windows Error Reporting, that is, display of sincere apologies for unrecoverable software faults and the opportunity to shove them in the face of someone somewhat related to someone responsible, knowledgeable or at least supposable of understanding.

FailFast. Now that's a name, but not a misnomer because it ignores any finally not in constrained execution.

However, it all goes up to Windows Quality Online Services (Winqual) and it seems hard to do anything about it going somewhere else.

In order to use the Microsoft service, some organizational decisions and code-signing strings including VeriSign fees are attached.

How comes every time I need to do something with certificates, I run into VeriSign's hand held wide open collecting money?

I could imagine we would all have personal certificates and code and email would be always signed if it wasn't for that behemoth squeezing and sucking on the Internet.

Probably, it would be possible to persuade my corporate masters to cough up the $399 because it's "for customer sat", but it keeps bugging me big time it'd be feeding the full.

eWeek, PressPass

Apart from being the obvious right thing to do, I still said it first:

June 1st, 2005

April 26th, 2007