Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!usc!rutgers!deimos!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!m.cs.uiuc.edu!p.cs.uiuc.edu!gillies
From: gillies@p.cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: the Multics from the black lago
Message-ID: <76700129@p.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: 9 Feb 90 04:50:00 GMT
References: <90@<KHB>
Lines: 13
Nf-ID: #R:<KHB:90:p.cs.uiuc.edu:76700129:000:534
Nf-From: p.cs.uiuc.edu!gillies    Feb  8 22:50:00 1990


Re:  Is mapping files into memory a big win?

Here's a cult-favorite paper that addresses this question,

"Hints for Computer System Designers", by Butler Lampson

I can't remember the source (probably ACM SOSP), but it came out in
1985, and Lampson (formerly at PARC) argued that simple is sometimes
better.  The Pilot OS designers copied the Multics file mapping trick,
and later lived to regret it.  The kernel code eventually ate up about
11,000 lines, and the applications programmers never recouped this
huge kernel investment.