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From: dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: CD-ROM player for both Mac and PS/2
Message-ID: <44940@improper.coherent.com>
Date: 19 Jan 90 20:25:20 GMT
References: <1391@key.COM> <12771@cbnewsd.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Coherent Thought Inc., Palo Alto CA
Lines: 61

In article <12771@cbnewsd.ATT.COM> jdu@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (john.d.unruh) writes:

> I think the right solution is to invent a standard way to store the
> information on the CD ROM and then to have a user interface program for
> each type of computer (PC, MAC, ATARI ST, AMIGA, etc) that comes on a
> floppy for that machine or is sold separately.  Then the information
> publishers can put out the information for the largest possible market
> and the information users can have a compatible interface to the CD ROM
> media from all vendors.  With current technology, perhaps a relational
> database and standardized image and sound formats would solve the
> problem.

Much of the standardization needed to do this is already in place.  CD-ROMs
can be written in the ISO 9660 format (or its older cousin High Sierra).
These formats define a standard for the CD-ROM's table-of-contents and
directories, file-naming conventions, and so forth.  It's entirely
possible to have a CD-ROM which is acceptable to both the Mac (via the
ISO 9660 Foreign File interface) and to an MS-DOS machine (via the
CD-ROM Extensions), and to other machines as well.

It isn't even necessary to ship retrieval software on a floppy.  ISO 9660
allows vendors to define some system-specific extensions to the directory
format, and to define "associated" files.  Apple has defined a set of
extensions specific to the Macintosh;  with these extensions, you can
store a file's resource fork, set file types and owners, and provide
specific icons for files.  A CD-ROM using these extensions remains
ISO-9660 conformant, and can be read by an MS-DOS machine, and Amiga,
etc.

I just received a copy of the GRIPS CD-ROM... it contains image-processing
programs, and many hundreds of megabytes of image data.  It contains
executable MS-DOS programs, as well as double-clickable Mac applications.
Other vendors' applications could be placed on the disk, as well.

The next step will be for information-sellers to adopt one or more
standard formats for the _contents_ of information files... standard
databases, etc.  I suspect that individual information-providers will
make their own decisions about which formats to support, based on what
they see as their target markets, the quality of standard-conformant
retrieval engines on various platforms, etc.

> In a way what we have is like designing CD players (audio) that all
> play the same CDs, but that have interfaces (audio out) that is not
> standardized.  In that sort of system, only those with the "right"
> receiver, integrated amp, or preamp could use the CD player.

Yup.  Or like the situation with Quad sound a decade ago.

I think it will get better, now that there's a vendor-independent,
international standard for the disk directories and table-of-contents.
Information vendors will find it to their advantage to use this
standard, and to use a database format which is compatible with multiple
runtime environments... this will increase their potential market,
without forcing them to reimplement everything from the ground up,
press multiple runs of CD-ROM, etc.

-- 
Dave Platt                                             VOICE: (415) 493-8805
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