Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!apple!apple.com!blob
From: blob@apple.com (Brian Bechtel)
Newsgroups: comp.ivideodisc
Subject: Re: CD ROMS and Audio Cd Players
Message-ID: <5925@internal.Apple.COM>
Date: 21 Dec 89 18:30:25 GMT
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 48
References:<806@prles2.UUCP> <43000005@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu> <57@zds-ux.UUCP>

In article <57@zds-ux.UUCP> gerry@zds-ux.UUCP (Gerry Gleason) writes:

> As someone else noted, ISO 9660 is a later version of High Sierra.

ISO 9660 is the international standard, with the first official version of 
this standard published April 15, 1988.  CDs pressed before this standard 
was approved (tried to) conform to a document called "Working Paper for 
Information Processing -- Volume and File Structure of Compact Read Only 
Optical Discs for Information Interchange," dated May 28, 1986. Discs 
following this standard are in "High Sierra" format.  This format differs 
from ISO 9660 in several places; for instance, volume descriptors have 
different type and quantity of fields. 

High Sierra is a different format, albeit slightly different, than ISO 
9660. By the way, the name High Sierra came from the hotel in Nevada where 
the first meetings regarding this standardization were held.

> I originally thought High Sierra was just another name for what 
> ISO 9660 specifies, but it is possible that it refers specifically 
> to the first implementation level.

Nope.  See above.

> As to drives, I'm not aware of anyone using an interface other than SCSI
> for CD-ROM drives

Amdek, LMSI (CM 201, CM 121), and Sony, among others.  It keeps the cost 
down if you're trying to target only the MS-DOS market.

In article <57@zds-ux.UUCP> gerry@zds-ux.UUCP (Gerry Gleason) writes:
> Also, a note on OS compatibility, ISO 9660 file system access is 
> available on UNIX also

ISO 9660 is supported by the Macintosh, Apple II, MS-DOS, VMS, various 
flavors of Unix, and probably most other serious operating systems.  
Contact your machine's manufacturer for further information.

You make an excellent point; reading the table of contents of a volume 
doesn't provide you with interoperability.  Just because I can get to a 
file, it doesn't mean I can make use of the file.  Having a common volume 
standard just removes one barrier from a long list of barriers...

> This is another example of don't post if you don't know.

No comment necessary.


--Brian Bechtel     blob@apple.com     "My opinion, not Apple's"