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From: greg@ncr-sd.UUCP (Greg Noel)
Newsgroups: net.unix,net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: need help with multi-reel cpio(problem with the suggested solution)
Message-ID: <463@ncr-sd.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 29-Apr-86 20:44:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: ncr-sd.463
Posted: Tue Apr 29 20:44:42 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 2-May-86 07:27:08 EDT
References: <520@sdcc13.UUCP> <461@ncr-sd.UUCP> <1728@sdcsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: greg@ncr-sd.UUCP (Greg Noel)
Organization: NCR Corporation, San Diego
Lines: 14
Keywords: cpio tape backup
Xref: watmath net.unix:7720 net.unix-wizards:17849

In article <1728@sdcsvax.UUCP> coleman@sdcsvax.UUCP (Don Coleman) writes:
>There are tape drives that cannot backspace(the qic-02 1/4" tape
>standard doesn't even contain any spacing commands), so this is not a
>general solution.  .......  the tape
>drivers could be modified to understand the real nature of the EOT
>assertion, and continue writing out the current block, but return on
>error on the next block.

S'truth, I didn't think of that.  But returning error on the following block
is functionally equivalent, and possibly even more optimal than the solution
I proposed.  It would require a slightly more complicated device driver, since
the EOT state would have to be remembered, but not unreasonably so.
-- 
-- Greg Noel, NCR Rancho Bernardo    Greg@ncr-sd.UUCP or Greg@nosc.ARPA