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windowsfilesystemsunc

What is a minimal valid UNC path?

I want to make a library that (among other things) parses UNC paths, but I don't fully understand the grammar.

Common example is: \\server\share\path

Are all of those required for a valid file path? I can navigate to \\server (without share) using Windows Explorer, but I assume it is using some share discovery protocol, not something filesystem APIs understand — is this right?

Solution

  • You are correct. A UNC path is required to have share name component.

    Quoting MSDN:

    UNC = \\<hostname>\<sharename>[\<objectname>]*

    The <hostname>, <sharename>, and <objectname> are referred to as "pathname components" or "path components". A valid UNC path consists of two or more path components.

    https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg465305.aspx