;+
; NAME:
;    dir_char
;
; PURPOSE:
;    Get the platform specific directory separation character
;
; CATEGORY:
;   Directories, Files
;
; CALLING SEQUENCE:
;  result=dir_char()
; 
; INPUTS:
;  none
;
; OPTIONAL INPUTS:
;  none
;      
; KEYWORD PARAMETERS:
;  none
; 
; OUTPUTS:
;  returns the dir separation character
; 
; OPTIONAL OUTPUTS:
;
; COMMON BLOCKS:
;
; SIDE EFFECTS:
;
; RESTRICTIONS:
;
; PROCEDURE:
;
; EXAMPLE:
;   print, dir_char()
;
; MODIFICATION HISTORY:
;   Dominik Brunner, ETHZ, Switzerland, first implementation
;-
FUNCTION dir_char
;****************************************************************************
;               This function returns the character used by the
;               operating system to represent directories
;****************************************************************************
   tok='/'
   CASE strlowcase(!VERSION.OS_FAMILY) OF
      'windows': tok = '\'
      'macos': tok = ':'
      'unix': tok = '/'
      'vms': tok = ''
      else: print,'unknown operating system'
   ENDCASE
   return,tok
END