file attributes

[Marcus J. Ranum]

erik at srava.sra.co.jp (Erik M. van der Poel) writes:

>Indeed. Many programs will suddenly stop working if we start adding
>standardized metadata to the files themselves. That's why we need the
>new system call.

	What's this "when" stuff? Don't hold your breath.

	Remember, a Mac is not a multiuser machine. If I go through my
filesystem on my UNIX machine and set all my file colors to an attractive
shade of blue, and the default application to "/bin/rm", that may not
be the same color/application mix desired by someone else. Simplistic
desktop models like Mac's aren't going to cut it for multiuser systems
where you might have fifty users looking at the same file, each wanting
a *different* set of options, and maybe a shared global default or two.

	You don't need a new system call - you need a system that keeps
a global database of file information and local customized per-user
file information. There are loads of nice databases around that can
easily handle a simple index->attribute map like you'd need. A new
system call would not only be inelegant, but it wouldn't provide half
as much functionality. Another problem with the system call idea is
that you'd then need to make every vendor support it, and use the same
attributes and so forth for your application to work right. Using a
database would give you an application that could even work on non
UNIX machines.

	I realize that Macs do thier attribute stuff in the kernel, but
there is only one vendor that makes Macs, and it's easy to standardize
in that case. Don't junk up the already bloated kernel - write your
application right. Besides - I don't see how you can say UNIX doesn't
have good facilities for doing this kind of stuff - have you ever looked
at Visix' "Looking Glass" or something like that? It works fine, and
since they are producing a commercial product, they didn't have time to
wait for everyone to see the light and ram some useless new system
call into their kernel.

mjr.
-- 

                   Hell is owning a *diskless* Cray Y-MP.