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From: cleland@sdbio2.ucsd.edu (Thomas Cleland)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: How to improve Workbench 2.0!
Message-ID: <16243@sdcc6.ucsd.edu>
Date: 1 Feb 91 21:31:14 GMT
References: <1991Jan27.105252.7019@marlin.jcu.edu.au> <7662@sugar.hackercorp.com> <56933@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> <1991Jan30.193443.5821@convex.com>
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Reply-To: cleland@sdbio2.ucsd.edu (Thomas Cleland)
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>>Multiple trashcans?  What the point of that?  The main concept behind
>>the Trashcan is to delete files.  Why do you need more than one?
>                                [...]
>The trashcan is a good organizer with a "throw-away" function built-in.
>Normally if I am "backing up" copies of stuff that I will later throw away
>I stuff them in the trashcan.  I *always* want this data to remain associated
>with the original data disk, but eventually I *will* delete it.  If everything
>went into the trashcan on my workbench disk it would quickly fill up (not to
>mention that my workbench disks are all pretty much full - except for when I
>boot my harddrive).
>                       [...]
>Actually I think that Commodore's trashcan makes a lot more sense than
>Apple's, especially for those who do not yet have a harddrive (the majority
>of Amiga owners).

This is interesting.  I'm not sure where the Apple trashcan
actually stores its files--on the boot disk or in RAM.  I have
to assume the latter; although the Finder demands infinite disk
swaps  (floppy-only system) I don't recall dumping something in
the Trashcan being one of those cases where it does.  Actually,
I take that back; I suspect that being put in the Apple trashcan
simply sets some status bit on the file itself and puts some
sort of pointer to that file in a "trashcan" directory in RAM.
This is all a guess, but fits.

Advantages and disadvantages.  To best simulate Apple's trashcan
for those who want it I suggest putting a Trashcan directory in
the RAM disk and dragging it out onto the desktop  (and using
"Leave Out" under WB2.0).  This will copy your files to RAM
and take up space, though.  The Amiga OS tends to do what it's
told immediately, while the Mac often puts it off until later
(which you can do if the OS controls disk removal exclusively).
Thus, dragging something into a trashcan on a different volume
would start a COPY command under AmigaDOS while the Mac OS
can just shuffle pointers  (if I'm correct)  and wait to see
if you delete the file or whatever before acting upon it in 
full.  The Mac Trashcan is, to my tastes, superior on the
surface, but imposes restrictions on the OS which aren't worth
it  (to me, based on my habits and preferences).  So I prefer
the Amiga package over the Mac package in this area  (and most
others).  

Of course, I could be completely wrong in my concept of the Mac
trashcan structure.

>            _.
>--Steve   ._||__      DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own.
>  Warren   v\ *|     ----------------------------------------------
>             V       {uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.com


-- 
   //  / Thom Cleland                       / It is easier        /
  //  / tcleland@ucsd.edu                  / to get forgiveness  /
\X/  / ASOCC * Amiga Users' Group at UCSD / than permission...  /
     \____________________________________\____________________/