xdg-utils currently appears to identify a Rexx file on the basis of the string "/*" (or maybe "/* [...] */") at the beginning of the first line. This is correct for Rexx files which are used under OS/2, which is how the OS/2 shell recognizes them as such. However, when writing a Rexx program under Linux, you customarily put a shebang in the first line pointing to the Regina interpreter: #!/usr/bin/regina so as to enable the files to be executable. It would be very helpful if this pattern could be added to the xdg-mime database. This would enable, for example, gedit to properly recognize Rexx files under Linux and automatically switch on syntax highlighting.
Could you please add which desktop platform you were running this test on (GNOME, KDE, XFCE, other) and maybe attach such a file for testing? The platform is important, because there are different MIME databases involved depending on desktop environment, i.e. KDE3 uses a different one, older GNOME versions might not use the freedesktop.org specified either.
Created attachment 8095 [details] sample Rexx file
I am encountering this with Gnome 2.16 under Fedora and Ubuntu. Rexx was open-sourced awhile back by IBM, and it has come to my attention that the most up-to-date version, ooRexx, is probably the most common flavor. It uses this shebang: #!/usr/bin/rexx In addition, it was pointed out to me in this newsgroup thread: http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.rexx/browse_thread/thread/e87e18958f497db4/eabedf0f3e4f866c#eabedf0f3e4f866c that this first line /*bin/true;exec rexx "$0" "$@";exit # REXX */ which was proposed in 1999, is platform-independent. I have just tested it and works; it is obviously compatible with the entry for Rexx in the current xdg mime database, so I for one will be using it for the time being.
seems more appropriate for shared-mime-info
Please follow the instructions at: http://cgit.freedesktop.org/xdg/shared-mime-info/tree/HACKING#n31 for mime-type additions.
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