Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!hellgate.utah.edu!helios.ee.lbl.gov!ucsd!rutgers!cmcl2!esquire!sbb
From: sbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: System 7.0 & Aliases
Message-ID: <1399@esquire.UUCP>
Date: 6 Sep 89 19:50:42 GMT
References: <1430@intercon.UUCP> <951@cbnewsk.ATT.COM> <4453@cps3xx.UUCP> <1436@intercon.UUCP>
Reply-To: sbb@esquire.dpw.com
Distribution: na
Organization: DP&W, New York, NY
Lines: 38

In article <1436@intercon.UUCP> amanda@intercon.uu.net (Amanda Walker) writes:
>I may just be staid and boring, but I don't see the point of all of the
>people that say how File IDs will make it so much easier to "move files
>around."   How many people rearrange their disks a lot (beyond the first
>2 weeks right after purchase, anyway)?  The closest thing I can think of
>that I do is occasionally rearrange my directory hierarchy now and then.

At first I felt as you do, Amanda, but then I thought about problems
that hierarchical paths present when Apple implements their new
publish/subscribe method of inter-application communication (IAC).
Since applications will be storing references to files, you really
don't want to have your word processor draw your company's logo on
your letter using a live link to the file ``hd:drawings:picts:logo'';
rather, it should be looking for FILEID=1823 or whatever.  Chances are
I'm going to move that ``logo'' file at some point, yet I don't want
my word processor to choke in 6 months because as far as it can see,
the file no longer exists.

>I mean, I can construct scenarios where I would move things around a lot,
>but I find it hard to imagine actually doing so in normal day-to-day life.
>Aliases make it a little easier to imagine, but still...

I agree, but I know that I reorganize things at least 3 or 4 times a
year (as I get new applications, etc.).  Mostly these aren't major
reorganizations, but it only takes one application to pronounce one
file ``missing'' to get a non-technical user utterly confused.

Given that under Apple's publish/subscribe IAC scheme applications are
going to be storing references to many external documents in their own
documents, I don't see how anything other than unique file IDs could
be used and still allow the user freedom to move and rename files.  Or
have I just missed something obvious here?

--
   Steve Baumgarten             | "New York... when civilization falls apart,
   Davis Polk & Wardwell        |  remember, we were way ahead of you."
   sbb@esquire.dpw.com          | 
   cmcl2!esquire!sbb            |                           - David Letterman