Xref: utzoo comp.unix.wizards:11515 comp.lang.c:13071 Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!killer!fmayhar From: fmayhar@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Frank Mayhar) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards,comp.lang.c Subject: Re: Record-access libraries (Was: Re: VMS vs. UNIX file system) Message-ID: <5722@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> Date: 4 Oct 88 21:41:49 GMT References: <258@cvbnet2.UUCP> Reply-To: fmayhar@killer.Dallas.TX.US (Frank Mayhar) Followup-To: comp.unix.wizards Organization: The Unix(R) Connection BBS, Dallas, Tx Lines: 33 In article <258@cvbnet2.UUCP> aperez@blazer.uucp (Arturo Perez Ext.) writes: >I guess I am starting to diverge. However, I do believe that there >are uses for standard access methods that take these things [record-level >access, as in database applications, etc.] into >account. What I don't understand is why isn't anyone providing them. > >Arturo Perez I've thought about this myself. The operating system I help support (Honeywell Bull CP-6) supports many different kinds of file types, most of which are record-level (the rest are block types, and some that are unique to CP-6). I feel that the major reason that this capability hasn't been (yet) provided for Un*x is that (1) there hasn't been a great need for it up to now (very few business-type applications run on Un*x, typically), (2) if you provide the capability in a library (and you're not AT&T) applications that use it become non-portable, and (3) providing it in a library is not as efficient as providing it as part of the operating system, and if you do that what you end up with is no longer Un*x, as such. One of the things that I hate most about Un*x is that it locks you into one way of looking at data: as a stream of bytes. While this is fine for certain applications, it (in a word) sucks for most others. What I would like to see is some company having the guts to build a Un*x- compatible system that would allow multiple file types, more flexible file access controls, decent async terminal handling, etc., etc. I would prefer it to be Honeywell Bull, but I really don't think that it will happen at all, and if it does it certainly won't be soon. The usual disclaimers. -- Frank Mayhar UUCP: fmayhar@killer.dallas.tx.us ARPA: Frank-Mayhar%ladc@bco-multics.hbi.honeywell.com USmail: 2116 Nelson Ave. Apt A, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 Phone: (213) 371-3979 (home) (213) 216-6241 (work)