Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!yale.edu!cmcl2!adm!smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Can't cat tape- big blocks?
Message-ID: <16487@smoke.brl.mil>
Date: 22 Jun 91 06:00:54 GMT
References: <14433@dog.ee.lbl.gov> <829@adpplz.UUCP> <14585@dog.ee.lbl.gov>
Organization: U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory, APG, MD.
Lines: 15

In article <14585@dog.ee.lbl.gov> torek@elf.ee.lbl.gov (Chris Torek) writes:
-Basically, then, you have two choices:
- a) Throw a lot of code into the kernel to add `cooked tape devices',
-    somewhat like cooked ttys.  You will probably have to leave raw
-    tape devices in anyway, for tape exchange purposes.
- b) Leave the ugly semantics of 9-track tapes exposed through the raw
-    interface, and let those programs that deal with tapes, also deal
-    with the Outside World.
-For some reason, most people seem to go for choice (b).

I've used UNIX systems that implemented both.  The "cooked" tape device
was virtually never used.

I agree with the assessment that raw devices are not mere byte streams
and that record boundaries do matter for raw devices.