Re: file-readable-p returns t for empty string

[Eli Zaretskii]

On 28 Feb 2002, David Kastrup wrote:

> > Do you mean, return ""?
> 
> Yes.
> 
> > That would violate the principle that expand-file-name always
> > returns an absolute file name.
> 
> Absolute file names come in a variety of flavours.  They do not need
> to start with "/".  For example, there are systems where they start
> with the equivalent of "C:" before the first root /, or even
> "/ftp@ftp.gnu.org:".  So what is it that qualifies an absolute file
> name?

See file-name-absolute-p.  It says that in Emacs, a file name is absolute 
if it satisfies one of these conditions:

  - begins with a directory separator (normally `/')

  - begins with a `~'

  - on DOS/Windows systems begins with a drive letter