Re: Extended Volume Format (HFS+)

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <692rj5$n1k$2@opal.southwind.net>,
Randy Shackelford <shack@onyx.southwind.net> wrote:
>I'd say better plan to use only Appleshare to access 'em. I wouldn't expect
>to get hold of tech info, and if you paid attention to the people who wrote
>the system software when they used to post here, new FSTs often require
>changes to the operating system itself to make new file systems work. I
>take their word for the reason why there are no specs for writing new FSTs
>over what Apple haters claim is the reason.

   That's the official reason, and it seriously smells of bad code
design. If the GS/OS manual is to be believed, then the FST layer sits
between the OS and the device drivers. In a good clean design, that
layer can be swapped out without affecting things above or
below. However, Apple appears to have taken way too many shortcuts to
get things "running." Shoulda taken the time to clean up the design
and get a good API in place.

   Linux has had many filesystems added to it without needing OS
changes. Why not? Because it was done right in the first place. But,
now that the odds of any new GS system software out of Macintosh Inc is
zero and dropping, so exposing the OS globals used internally is not
gonna break when 6.0.n (n>1) comes out.

Nathan Mates

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