I have a Trixbox 2.8.04 system (asterisk 1.6.0.26/freepbx 2.9.0rc1.4) which is showing the following errors in the full log:
[Apr 12 17:35:47] WARNING[5833] pbx_config.c: The use of ‘_.’ for an extension is strongly discouraged and can have unexpected behavior. Please use ‘X.’ instead at line 13061
[Apr 12 17:35:47] WARNING[5833] pbx_config.c: The use of '.’ for an extension is strongly discouraged and can have unexpected behavior. Please use ‘X.’ instead at line 13062
[Apr 12 17:35:47] WARNING[5833] pbx_config.c: The use of '.’ for an extension is strongly discouraged and can have unexpected behavior. Please use ‘_X.’ instead at line 17913
This is the perfect error message in that it tells you how to fix the problem! A quick grep shows that offending lines are from extensions.conf and extensions_additional.conf. But, if you shouldn’t edit these files, how do you fix errors in them? A FreePBX catch-22?
It’s a judgement call by someone who decided those are errors and it is left over from the old Asterisk 1.2 days when _. caused problems beyond what they could cause now.
Furthermore, the resolution to the error is wrong, _. !== _X. as _X. would only catch a numeric did/extension.
Bottom line, it is like it is with the full knowledge of the ‘implications’ in our dialplan. The reality is that Asterisk should really consider making that a NOTICE vs. a warning, but I suspect no one ever bothered to file an issue with them.
There are long drawn out patterns that one could explicitly put that would do the same thing, and in the 1.2 days there were times that would have been safer, not, why go through all the trouble when _. is correct…