Re: Thinking outside the box on file systems

["linux-os \(Dick Johnson\)" <linux-os@analogic.com>]

On Thu, 16 Aug 2007, Helge Hafting wrote:

> Marc Perkel wrote:
>> Kyle, What I'm suggesting is scrapping all existing
>> concepts and replacing them with something entirely
>> new. Posix, Unix, SELinux go away except for an
>> emulation layer for backwards compatibility. What I'm
>> suggesting is to start over and do it right.
>>
> If you want to get any support for "starting over",
> then  you need to:
> 1. Point out some serious problem with the existing stuff,
>   otherwise why _bother_ start over
> 2. Come up with a truly better idea (demonstrably better)
>    that isn't full of so obvious flaws that a seasoned kernel
>    developer can shoot it down in 5 minutes.
>
> Trying to be a visionary with a "great idea" that you are
> prepared to let others implement just don't work on
> this list.  If you want to go that route, you
> start a company, hire programmers, tell them to
> implement your vision. If your idea is good then
> your company succeeds.
>
> If you want to be an open-source visionary, you have to
> do the initial work yourself until you attract other interested people.
>
>> One of the problems with the Unix/Linux world is that
>> your minds are locked into this one model. In order to
>> do it right it requires the mental discipline to break
>> out of that.
>>
> Or perhaps unix have the best model already? ;-)
> If you want a big break with the existing unix models, then
> perhaps a entirely new project is in order, rather than
> trying to change linux. Linux is after all, in use by millions
> who are satisfied with the linux filesystem model already.
>
> Now, linux is open-source, so you can of course use it as a
> starting point for your different system.  Then you can compete
> with "standard linux" - see who attracts most developers and
> most users in the long run.
>
> Helge Hafting
> -

I think Marc Perkel's basic idea was implimented under CP/M as
a "user level." Also, the concept of a virtual directory structure
has been around about as long as "container files," such as those
on the old Intel MDS200 development station. This is hardly
"thinking out-of-the-box." It's just a rehash of some abandoned
stuff.

That said, a major speed limitation of directory lookups
is the manipulation and comparison of variable-length strings.
Maybe Mark might be able to improve this by truly thinking
out-of-the-box.

Cheers,
Dick Johnson
Penguin : Linux version 2.6.22.1 on an i686 machine (5588.29 BogoMips).
My book : http://www.AbominableFirebug.com/
_


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