Re: File as a directory - VFS Changes

[Hans Reiser <reiser@namesys.com>]

Nikita Danilov wrote:

>Hans Reiser writes:
> > Nikita Danilov wrote:
> > 
> > >
> > >But cycles are "solvable" in current file systems too: they simply do
> > >not exist there.
> > >  
> > >
> > Yes, but Nikita, cycles represent semantic functionality that has value
> > because being able to embody more expressions means more power of
>
>If you mean that multiple parents have some value, I agree. Problem is
>that solutions proposed so far have severe limitation:
>
> - they add support for cycle detection that is necessary to support
> multiple parents, but that support is only efficient for "small"
> datasets: when total number of objects is not very big, and "average"
> object has only one parent.
>
> - even when there are no multiple parents, system is not efficient for
> large number of files.
>  
>
Can you say this in more detail?

> > expression.  If some way can be found to allow them, then functionality
> > is increased. Separating links that increase reference count from links
> > that merely point (ala hard vs. sym links) is one approach.  If there
> > was effective enough for real world use cycle detection, that would be
> > better.
>
>It seems to me that in the domains where proposed designs are
>applicable, symlinks already provide viable solution.
>  
>
I have been thinking that disabling hard links for filedirectories might
be an acceptable solution for reiser4 if cycles are a deeper problem
than I currently appreciate.  We can then allow people to turn off one
of either filedirectories or hard links.  I would prefer solving the
cycles problem though....

>Nikita.
>
>
>  
>