A handle to a file server session.

A program or thread may have arbitrarily many sessions open simultaneously.

Use this class for all file system manipulation, including:

1. adding, removing, moving and renaming files and directories

2. inspecting and changing file attributes and directory entry details. These include the time and date when the file or directory was last written to, its size and various attribute flags such as read-only, hidden, archive or system.

3. finding a file s real name; if the file system on which it is stored has to "mangle" the name into a shorter format

4. getting directory listings

5. maintaining a default path; unlike some other systems, there is a single system default path, rather than one for each drive: the default path consists of a drive and a path specification.

6. performing context-sensitive parses using TParse objects, and the session path

7. obtaining information on drives and volumes

8. formatting and labelling volumes

9. obtaining a list of valid drives

10. emulating the DOS subst command, which allows any directory to appear as if it were a separate drive

11. requesting notification of when significant change occurs. This can be used for programs which maintain file lists, but must update those lists when change occurs.

12. finding the version number of the file server

13. resource counting to ensure that all resources are closed when the session terminates.

This class is not intended for user derivation.

The following restrictions apply when a path is specified:

1. its total length must not exceed 256 characters

2. wildcards cannot be used in the drive or in any directory name, although they may be allowed in the filename and extension.

3. double backslashes are not allowed in the path.

4. the following characters must not be included anywhere in the path: < > " / |

5. a colon may only be included between the drive and path

6. no directory name or filename plus extension may consist solely of space characters, or of a single or double dot.

7. spaces between the drive, if specified, and the first directory in the path are illegal, although there may be spaces between other path components, for instance between directories.