title: Python: Weird prefix in path
body: <p>I am currently refactoring some old Python code and stumbled across this construct:</p>
  
  <pre><code>abspath = '\\\\?\\' + os.path.abspath(path)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Can anyone explain the possible use of the prefix? I would like to get rid of it but I am not sure whether it solves some strange corner case, like UNC network path access or something similar. </p>
  
  <p>If it helps, we are only developing on Windows, so I can rule out that the prefix handles some non-Windows os-specific case.</p>