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From: gray@labc.dec.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: shared libraries, a call for CATS to come to the rescue!
Message-ID: <10490@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Date: Sat, 20-Jun-87 20:54:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.10490
Posted: Sat Jun 20 20:54:58 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 22-Jun-87 06:07:25 EDT
Sender: daemon@decwrl.DEC.COM
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Lines: 48


    CATS,
        
    Why not extend Exec via the shared-library facility itself, to
    include a service which provides dynamic name-space translation
    services for all application?
                                             
    As each application began running, it would feed its application
    name (as coded by the programmer) to an Exec service which would
    then provide it with a unique key to be used in obtaining the
    online-unique-name-translations for all of its system-wide resources
    (including shared-libraries.)
    
    A utility program would be available to the user (from Workbench
    or a shell) to allow the user to "register" its applications, during
    initial installation, with the Exec name-translation services. 
    This utility program would then conciously resolve any descrepencies
    between application names, as new applications are added to the
    system, for use in generating and assigning unique identifier keys.
    This can be accomplished at the utility program level as within
    its context, it knows exactly which applications are present in
    the machine and which application names are unique.
    
    The argument could now be made that the problem of coordinating
    library-names has become the problem of coordinating-application
    names; however, application-names are generally registered copyrights
    or (in the case of pd-type software) are sufficiently unique to
    not cause problems.  It is my opinion that, in fact, application
    names are generally so unique that very little, if any coordination
    would be required on the part of Commodore.
    
    Because the facility described would exist part in a shared library
    and part in a utility program (and not in the actual os architecture),
    it would only be effective for programs which chose to use it. 
    This would, however, provide backwards compatibility with existing
    applications.
    
    -Tom Gray
    
    
    
    [ These views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Digital
      Equipment Corporation. ]
    
    
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