abnjh.490 Tapes on Unix

[mat at hou5d.UUCP]

>	Tape drives are a resource.  Even small systems can benefit from good
>	resource allocation software.  The current resource allocation software
>	for tape drives is inadequate not to say nonexistant.  If you dont
>	need it, you dont have to use it, but there are some of us who feel

The obvious solution is to build a ``user driver'' structure into the UN*X I/O
architecture.  Such things as tape allocation, special operator intervention,
etc, can be inserted there, without changing the kernel, as local site needs
dictate.  Of course, someone could write a compiler for a special allocation
language and ...

There are some other gaps in the I/O system.  Why can't a program present
the same interface to another program that a terminal does?  When I use
programs that talk to other machines (over communication systems, not
general dial-up lines) the programs that I run on the remote machine don't
believe that they have a terminal;  there is no ``who'' entry; opening
/dev/tty fails, and others can't ``write(I)'' to me.  Why can't there be
user special files which trigger user I/O programs (great for deamons,
locking, etc)?  Why can't programs present a magtape interface to other
programs?  This would allow real device independence if, say, the backup
program was suddenly given a read/write-once optical disk to play with.

					Mark Terribile
					hou5d!mat
					from Mole End