Re: silent semantic changes with reiser4

[Horst von Brand]

Spam <spam@xxxxxxxxxxxx> said:
> Andrew Morton <akpm@xxxxxxxx> said:

[...]

> > For example, some image file formats already support embedded metadata, do
> > they not?

>   Yes, JPEG, TIFF and PNG files for example. But, if you modify any of
>   these  with  an application that doesn't support the extensions then
>   you will loose them.

As you will each time you muck around with your files-are-directories.
Nothing new there.

>   Also,  you  are thinking _very_ narrowly now. There are thousands of
>   file  formats.  Implementing  the  support  for  meta-data/ streams/
>   attributes  in  the  kernel  will  make  it  possible  to  use  this
>   generically for all files.

So the _kernel_ has to know about thousands of formats, just in case it
some blue day it comes across a strange file? Better leave that to the
applications.

You will _not_ be able to define a single format for extra data about the
file, there will be differing extra data for different users (do you
suggest a root-only file with special writable pouches for "graphical icon
for the file" for each user on the system?!), so the idea in itself is
doomed from the start.

>   I  use  this  in  Windows  quite much.

Then use it and be happy. No need to screw up Linux for that.

>                                          I put information description
>   fields  for  lots  of  different  files. These descriptions are then
>   searchable etc. I could use the command prompt to copy the files and
>   the descriptions would still be there.

The descriptions might make sense to _you_, _now_. No guarantee they make
any sense (or are in the least useful) for other users on your system, and
I might want them in arabic or some such. The descriptions might make no
sense to you in a couple of years.

>   Secondly, do you expect file managers like Nautilus and Konqueror to
>   support  every piece of file format on the planet so they could read
>   information directly from the documents?

That's their (self-selected) job, yes.
-- 
Dr. Horst H. von Brand                   User #22616 counter.li.org
Departamento de Informatica                     Fono: +56 32 654431
Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria              +56 32 654239
Casilla 110-V, Valparaiso, Chile                Fax:  +56 32 797513
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