I think that dentries should stay, but I also think NFS
should go instead :-)
Other *nixes use a dcache of sorts (SCO does), so I don't
see it as being a concept problem. It looks like it's an
implementation problem.
>From here on in is complete jibberish...
I think the problems with the present dcache stems from it
being the master of all inodes. Instead, it should be a
slave to them.
I would suggest that inodes be restored to master status.
NFS can deal with this - this is a proven fact. Of course
this would mean restoring VFS to its pre-dcache state.
Each inode would get a pointer to a list of it's dentries.
This gives the file system fine control over what appears
in the dcache. Right now, there is no reverse look-up
of inode to dentries either.
For flexibility, all dcache look-ups should also optionally
go through the file system for any last minute adjustments.
A new dcache() VFS routine perhaps.
-- Andrew E. Mileski mailto:aem@netcom.ca