How do I resolve a canonical filename in Windows?

Question

If I have a string that resolves to a file path in Windows, is there an accepted way to get a canonical form of the file name?

For example, I\'d like to know whether

Answer 1

Using FileInfo (example in C#):

FileInfo info1 = new FileInfo(@"C:\stuff\things\etc\misc\whatever.txt");
FileInfo info2 = new FileInfo(@"C:\stuff\things\etc\misc\other\..\whatever.txt");
if (info1.FullName.Equals(info2.FullName)) {
    Console.WriteLine("yep, they're equal");
}
Console.WriteLine(info1.FullName);
Console.WriteLine(info2.FullName);

Output is:

yep, they're equal
C:\stuff\things\etc\misc\whatever.txt
C:\stuff\things\etc\misc\whatever.txt