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From: fostel@ncsu.UUCP (Gary Fostel)
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: RE: Why Not Virtual Files?
Message-ID: <2572@ncsu.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 27-Apr-84 09:59:25 EST
Article-I.D.: ncsu.2572
Posted: Fri Apr 27 09:59:25 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Apr-84 10:27:06 EST
Organization: N.C. State University, Raleigh
Lines: 18


    Well, the idea of virtual files is not very new, MULTICS stands out as
    probably the first to give the idea a good work-out.  But I think there 
    is a related issue of programming style: most files are processed in a
    strict sequential fashion: if you are going to treat my file like an
    array of byte (or somesuch) then who will maintain the file pointer for
    all us old-timers who still thing sequential files have something to offer?
    Are you going to force me to maintain my own file pointer?   Yeccch!   
    Give me a nice simple get/putchar or give me death!

    And anyway, what of io redirection and pipes and things?  How am I going
    to randomly access a virtual file which is comming in little dribbles
    out of an inherently sequential virtual device like a pipe? Or a terminal?

    An elegant idea, but I think there is still an apriori desire to have
    good-ol sequential little bit at a time processing.
    ----GaryFostel----