VMS File versions (was RE: linux-2.5.4-pre1 - bitkeeper testing)

["Robert Pfister" <robertp@ustri.com>]

>That is not my recollection.  What I remember is that our system
admistrator
>set up people's accounts so that the default behaviour was as desired by
>the individual.  This has gotten me curious, so I went out to a storage
container
>and dug out an old VAX 4000/60 which hasn't run since about 1992.  If it
works,
>I'll be able to answer with more than vague memories.  At least for VMS
5.1, which
>is just a bit out of date as the current version is 7.3 or so.  Now, if can
just
>remember the SYSTEM password. ;-)

My recollection is that you could set the version limit on a directory, and
this would propogate to all the files underneath, unless you explicitly
changed it.

>Perhaps others whose VMS experience is more recent than mine can answer
this question.
>More generally, if the infrastructure for keeping file versions around is
going
>to be generated for other reasons, having the option to have file versions
could
>be useful for some people.  I certainly remember people who loved that
feature,
>but I wasn't one of them.

I liked file versions when I was doing intense development, and it took a
lot of concentration to keep it all straight. It confused the heck out of
many people, and most sysadmins ran batch jobs to "purge" every night -- so
you could only count on versions being available for a limited time.

Is anyone working on version support for a Linux filesystem, as well as all
the utilities that would need to change?

Robb