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From: dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Memory Protection (was: Gripes)
Message-ID: <1991Jan29.230848.1851@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 29 Jan 91 23:08:48 GMT
References: <1991Jan25.183443.2825@waikato.ac.nz> <1991Jan25.213652.26781@cbnewsk.att.com> <1991Jan29.074646.7218@actrix.gen.nz>
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Organization: University of Illinois at U-C
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In article <1991Jan29.074646.7218@actrix.gen.nz> Bruce.Hoult@bbs.actrix.gen.nz writes:
>What's so ugly about HFS?  I don't see any problems with the programming
>interface to it

To quote an early Apple manual, "You are a mutant, and will go far in
the computer world."

You like working directory reference numbers?  You like knowing when
you should, must, and must not use them?  You like knowing when you
should, must, and must not close them?

You like checking to see if HFS is active?

You like the fact that the high-level calls are incredibly wimpy, and the
PB calls use the Parameter Block From Hell?

You like the fact that PBGetCatInfo changes the dirId field on you
if you happen to be looking at a directory?  (Fun for indexed calls, folks!)

None of these can't be programmed around.  But that means that every
application has extra code in it, to produce high-level calls that
ought to be in the system.  It also means that every developer has to
wade through IM-IV, and all the debugging involved with writing these
sorts of things.

One of my favorite bugs was forgetting to set ioMisc in a PBHOpen call.
Seems ioMisc is ignored on newer machines, 'cause I didn't have any problems.
Watch out on an SE or older, though...  This kind of thing is very easy
to do, but could be avoided with a smarter high-level interface than
FSOpen (like, let me specify a dirId, and what permissions I want; who
cares about an alternate volume buffer?).

Whine, whine, whine, I know.  But I've been bitten often enough by the
File manager to have developed a distinct distaste for it.

I'm glad to hear that system 7 addresses these issues.  Of course, that's
not much use since a heck of a lot of macs won't be running system 7 for
a heck of a long time.
--
Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office
Internet: s-dorner@uiuc.edu  UUCP: uunet!uiucuxc!uiuc.edu!s-dorner