Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!yetti!geac!daveb
From: daveb@geac.UUCP (Brown)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Generic links (was Re: Symbolic Links)
Message-ID: <1427@geac.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 20-Sep-87 13:14:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: geac.1427
Posted: Sun Sep 20 13:14:17 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Sep-87 18:36:56 EDT
References: <8731@brl-adm.ARPA> <2789@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com> <1781@munnari.oz> <4477@ncoast.UUCP> <4028@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Reply-To: daveb@geac.UUCP (Dave Collier-Brown)
Organization: The little blue rock next to that twinkly star.
Lines: 25

In article <4028@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> mangler@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu (System Mangler/Don Speck) writes:
>In article <4477@ncoast.UUCP>, allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) writes:
>> (1) Generic links.  These would be special files containing, not pathnames,
>>     but (device, inode) pairs.
>
>Putting device numbers into a zillion special files makes it exceedingly
>painful to move a filesystem to a different device, and isn't likely to
>work at all for a network filesystem.  Ditto for inode numbers.
>
True, but the general idea of a dotted pair is a good one. How about
making their representation ((device.filesystem).(directory-inode.name))
and the resolution algorithm be:
	if (device contains filesystem && directory-inode is a directory
	   && name exists)
		succeed
	else
		fail with suitable error (unmounted, no containing
		dir, no file, etc)
	fi
--dave
-- 
 David Collier-Brown.                 {mnetor|yetti|utgpu}!geac!daveb
 Geac Computers International Inc.,   |  Computer Science loses its
 350 Steelcase Road,Markham, Ontario, |  memory (if not its mind)
 CANADA, L3R 1B3 (416) 475-0525 x3279 |  every 6 months.