From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Francis Burton Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Software/HD ecology Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 11:24:04 +0000 Organization: University of Glasgow Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: <3DF9C354.86AC893@bio.gla.ac.uk> References: <041220020952400758%ajanta@no.spam> <56cfb0e3.0212041458.5eab182a@posting.google.com> <061220020416350201%ajanta@no.spam> <071220021155280606%ajanta@no.spam> <5ld6obj8il.fsf@rum.cs.yale.edu> <091220021652087216%ajanta@no.spam> <111220021101520860%ajanta@no.spam> <111220021253524057%ajanta@no.spam> <5l65u0i8zj.fsf@rum.cs.yale.edu> <111220022053507599%ajanta@no.spam> <87u1hjdwta.fsf@hurd.crasseux.com> <121220021419243187%anil@null.invalid> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: main.gmane.org 1039780431 15566 80.91.224.249 (13 Dec 2002 11:53:51 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@main.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 11:53:51 +0000 (UTC) Return-path: Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 18MoO4-00042k-00 for ; Fri, 13 Dec 2002 12:53:48 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.10.13) id 18MoGg-0000mV-00 for gnu-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 13 Dec 2002 06:46:10 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.icl.net!newsfeed.fjserv.net!news-lond.gip.net!news.gsl.net!gip.net!colt.net!easynet-quince!easynet.net!magenta.plig.net!earthli!nntphost.dur.ac.uk!server5.netnews.ja.net!server6.netnews.ja.net!news.gla.ac.uk!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.text.tex,gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 27 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: fury.biomed.gla.ac.uk Original-X-Trace: singer.cent.gla.ac.uk 1039778599 18459 130.209.48.24 (13 Dec 2002 11:23:19 GMT) Original-X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@gla.ac.uk Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: 13 Dec 2002 11:23:19 GMT X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win98; I) X-Accept-Language: en Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu comp.sys.mac.apps:348817 gnu.emacs.help:108083 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1b5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Archive: List-Unsubscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+gnu-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:4614 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:4614 Anil wrote: > Let us say a slightly enhanced version of "ls" could tell you not only > that a file is owned by root, wheel, etc., but also "belongs" to the > System or a user or a package like TeX or Emacs-29.9, and maybe even > its type within that package (src, doc, bin...). This requires one or > two more file attributes, but then you could check on an individual > file with "ls" or list all files belonging to a package with "find". Rather than add an extension to handle one very specific problem, might not this issue be better addressed through use of a more general attribute-based or "semantic" filesystem? (See e.g. the work of Gifford et al. at http://www.psrg.lcs.mit.edu/history/publications/Papers/sfsabs.htm ) > I think unix was conceptualized for small systems and programs, where a > user might know every file, where it came from, what it does. Either > you wrote it yourself or copied it from a friend. Those times are gone. > We have hundreds of thousands of files, know nothing about them, and > routinely install packages that bring thousands of files. The culture > and the tools have not evolved to deal with this reality and perhaps > need to. It's good to see that people are recognizing and drawing attention to this problem - a very serious one, imho. Francis