Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!chinet!les
From: les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: What kinds of things would you want in the GNU OS?
Message-ID: <8587@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 30 May 89 15:18:53 GMT
References: <106326@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <4315@ficc.uu.net> <338@arc.UUCP> <459@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> <9402@alice.UUCP>
Reply-To: les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell)
Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix
Lines: 17

In article <9402@alice.UUCP> andrew@alice.UUCP (Andrew Hume) writes:

>> Long filenames are great. I use filenames all the time to hold
>> extra information, which allows database queries using shell meta-characters.

>storing information is what a filesystem is for.
>if you want to use regular expressions, put the information
>in a file.

Are you suggesting that your filenames *don't* store any information?
Besides the obvious intent of the name, there is the advantage for
database usage that some directory operations are atomic.  That is,
you will normally never be able to access a filename in an inconsistent
state.  You cannot say the same for the contents of the files unless
explicit locking is done.

Les Mikesell