Re: Going past the 51 file limit, other than GEOS?

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Supertimer <supertimer@aol.com> wrote:

> dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson) wrote:
> 
> >Obsbedia2 <obsbedia2@aol.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Qfix allows ProDOS file names that use any ascii characters, but has anyone
> >> tried to allow ProDOS to handle more that 51 files on the main directory?
> >
> >What do you have against subdirectories?
> >
> >I'd be surprised if GEOS could let you get past this limit, since it
> >uses ProDOS.
> 
> GEOS gets past this limit.  The behavior is that if you put
> the 52nd file onto disk and then the 53rd and so on and
> then delete all the files, you can then use the disk with
> other ProDOS programs and the OTHER ProDOS programs
> can then put the same amount of files (52, 53, etc.) on the
> disk.

Ah, so it grows the root directory in the same manner as subdirectories.
I don't think this is a very good idea - a fragmented root directory on
a 5.25" disk (in particular) is not a good thing.  A better plan would
be to create the root directory as a contiguous chunk, with a larger
fixed limit, at the point the disk is erased or formatted.

Does GEOS actually use the ProDOS kernel, or is it a separate operating
system which implements the same file system?

If it uses the ProDOS kernel, then it must be using block-level calls to
extend the root directory, going behind the kernel's back.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P O Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand