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From: ka@hou3c.UUCP (Kenneth Almquist)
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Re: Why not virtual files?
Message-ID: <502@hou3c.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Apr-84 13:47:25 EST
Article-I.D.: hou3c.502
Posted: Thu Apr 26 13:47:25 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Apr-84 05:18:52 EST
References: <333@oliveb.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 12

MULTICS does what you suggest.

The problem with the approach is that while it unifies memory and
disk files, it does not unify disk files and devices.  In MULTICS,
there are two ways to read a file.  One is to map it into memory.
The other is to use I/O system calls.  If you choose the former
approach then you are assuming that the user will never want to
substitute a device (such as his terminal) for the disk file.  I
would argue that good programming practice dictates using the I/O
system calls to access a file if you simply want to read or write
the file sequentially.
				Kenneth Almquist