[texhax] Puzzle: bibtex working when it *shouldn't*!!! ???

[Philip Taylor]

David Carlisle wrote:
> I can't imagine why you would assume or expect that. 

Er, because DEK /defined/ TeX's behaviour to be consistent across platforms ?  But on re-reading TeX.web, I see that DEK already had this problem in mind :

> Simple uses of \TeX\ refer only to file names that have no explicit
> extension or area. For example, a person usually says `\.{\\input} \.{paper}'
> or `\.{\\font\\tenrm} \.= \.{helvetica}' instead of `\.{\\input}
> \.{paper.new}' or `\.{\\font\\tenrm} \.= \.{<csd.knuth>test}'. Simple file
> names are best, because they make the \TeX\ source files portable;
from which it (almost) follows that non-simple file names make the \TeX\ source files less portable.  Sigh.
** Phil.