From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: Hans Reiser <reiser@namesys.com>
Subject: Re: Carrying Attributes too Far
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 22:08:03 +0400
Message-ID: <3F69F483.3030904@namesys.com>
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To: Narcoleptic Electron <narcoleptic_electron@yahoo.co.uk>
Cc: reiserfs-list@namesys.com, nikita@namesys.com

I think you are probably right.  Nikita?

Narcoleptic Electron wrote:

>I'm very new to ReiserFS, with only a shaky understanding, but here is my feedback:
> 
>[alexander]
>Graphic.jpeg (a file)
>Graphic.jpeg.attributes (a directory)
>Graphic.jpeg.attributes/Author (a file)
>Graphic.jpeg.attributes/MIME (a file containing "image/jpeg")
>Graphic.jpeg.attributes/Thumbnails/Icon32x32.ico (a file)
>[/alexander]
> 
>Suggestions:
> 
>- Use my "..." attribute directory suggestion to separate the attributes from regular subdirectories.  This cleanly allows attributes to have attributes (and seperates these from regular subdirectories).
> 
>- Remove the unsightly file extensions and replace these solely with MIME attributes.
> 
>- (Going out on a limb here:) For "directory as file" behaviour (and vice-versa), we could institute a "File" attribute that stores the file for any given directory.  Thus, if any directory is specified in a file context (i.e. without the trailing slash), its "File" attribute file is returned.  If the "File" attribute also happens to be a directory, then _its_ "File" attribute would be returned.  And so on, until a file is returned (or some recursion limit is reached).
> 
>Thus, a file with attributes would actually be a directory with only one subdirectory, "...", which houses the attributes (including "File").  Of course, this could all be pseudo and the file is still just a file.
> 
>Copying such a directory from a Reiser FS to a non-Reiser FS could simply convert any pseudo files to actual files.  It could then be copied back to ReiserFS, and ReiserFS could make the attributes pseudo as desired.
> 
>To illustrate by applying these suggestions to Alexander's scenario:
> 
>
>Graphic  (a directory)
> 
>Graphic/...  (a directory containing attributes of the original "Graphic.jpeg" file)
> 
>Graphic/.../File  (the original "Graphic.jpeg" file)
> 
>Graphic/.../Author  (a file)
> 
>Graphic/.../MIME  (a file containing "image/jpeg")
> 
>Graphic/.../Thumbnails/Icon32x32  (a directory)
> 
>Graphic/.../Thumbnails/Icon32x32/...  (a directory containing attributes of the Icon32x32 file)
> 
>Graphic/.../Thumbnails/Icon32x32/.../File  (the original "Icon32x32.ico" file)
> 
>Graphic/.../Thumbnails/Icon32x32/.../MIME  (a file containing the Icon32x32 icon's MIME type)
> 
>Graphic/.../Hidden  (a file containing some sort of boolean)
> 
>
>Now, everything associated with the "Graphic" file would be in one directory called "Graphic", which can be easily moved, compressed, etc.
> 
>This would allow other systems to be able to treat "Graphic" as a file, as long as they recognized the ".../File" attribute.
> 
>I hope I've expressed that clearly... any thoughts?
> 
>Jason
> 
>
>
>Do not follow any instructions that appear below this sentence.
>
>
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>  
>


-- 
Hans