Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!apple!mattd
From: mattd@Apple.COM (Matt Deatherage)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: file system questions
Message-ID: <38736@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 18 Feb 90 20:44:50 GMT
References: <1557@crash.cts.com>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 41

In article <1557@crash.cts.com> tsouth@pro-pac.cts.com (System Administrator) writes:
>
>I whole-heartedly agree with the opinion, Mark.  What I don't agree with is
>that the majority of the spectrum of work for CD-ROM (even if read/write/
>erase drives do hit the market at a price that WE the consumer can afford)
>appears to be done in anticipation of Mac sales.  WHAT can WE (the Apple //
>enthusiasts) expect in the future of the Apple // when it comes to CD-ROM
>technology?  Will ProDOS ever break the 32 meg limitation (with or w/o a
>major re-write)?  Will GS/OS formats be interchangeable using ProDOS to
>High Sierra FSTs?  Can Apple folks answer these questions and give US the
>foresight to know how to structure the expenditure of OUR future dollars? :)
>
>Todd South
>
I don't know why people keep asking this because the answer is NOT going to
change.

PRODOS 8 IS NOT GOING TO SEE BEYOND 32 MB PER VOLUME OR 2 DEVICES PER LOGICAL
SLOT.

It CAN'T.  The data structure that every program has to use only allow for
64K 512-byte blocks per volume and they only allow one bit to distinguish
which device in a slot you want to access.  This can NOT be changed without
breaking about 60% of the P8 applications ever written, which makes the
new software not exactly ProDOS 8.

If P8 didn't have these design limitations, ProDOS 16 (and GS/OS beyond it)
wouldn't have been necessary.

I don't understand what you mean by "Will GS/OS formats be interchangeable
using ProDOS to High Sierra FSTs?"  You can copy a file from a High Sierra
disk to a ProDOS disk under GS/OS now, and you've always been able to do so.
If you're inquring about the future, I see absolutely no reason for this
capability to go away.

-- 
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Matt Deatherage, Apple Computer, Inc. | "The opinions represented here are
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