windows - Are there any invalid linux filenames?

Question

If I wanted to create a string which is guaranteed not to represent a filename, I could put one of the following characters in it on Windows:

 / : * ? | < >

e.g.

this-is-a-filename.png

?this-is-not.png

Is there any way to identify a string as 'not possibly a file' on Linux?

Answer 1

There are almost no restrictions - apart from '/' and '', you're allowed to use anything. However, some people think it's not a good idea to allow this much flexibility.