Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site fortune.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!fortune!rpw3 From: rpw3@fortune.UUCP Newsgroups: net.unix Subject: Re: Re: abnjh.490 Tapes on Unix - (nf) Message-ID: <2738@fortune.UUCP> Date: Sat, 10-Mar-84 23:06:29 EST Article-I.D.: fortune.2738 Posted: Sat Mar 10 23:06:29 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 11-Mar-84 07:07:20 EST Sender: notes@fortune.UUCP Organization: Fortune Systems, Redwood City, CA Lines: 43 #R:ecsvax:-213200:fortune:26900031:000:1822 fortune!rpw3 Mar 10 18:16:00 1984 Having been peripherally involved (as a user) in DEC's efforts several years ago to put "magtape labeling" into TOPS-10, and recently locally in putting cartridge tape into UNIX, I urge people who are doing work on magtape handling to get/read/understand the ANSI Magtape Labeling Standard, especially the appendix on implementation implications. Even though it may seem "ancient" to many people, the issues, from single-volume-single-file through multi-volume-multi-file, are clearly laid out and addressed by the standard. Personally, I agree that the "funny device name" approach just doesn't hack it. If you want "transparency" (whatever that is), the "stty" model seems to be a better one and more consistent with overall UNIX "style" (whatever THAT is). What seems awkward about it under UNIX is that UNIX doesn't really have the concept of a "job", as evidenced by the hassles people have talked about in net.unix* recently about how to kill a background process when you log off. Another example is the various hacks (including our own "stty ... savemodes") to get "sticky" characteristics applied to terminals across several opens and closes, but which revert to system standard on logout. With the "job" notion, it becomes easier to have logout or daemon processes undo whatever allocations and modifications you did to peripherals during your session (unless you were the superuser changing the system defaults!). Even so, the Bourne Shell "trap 0" can provide some flavor of "job": $ mytape=`mount -tape -density 1600 -tracks 9` $ trap "unmount -tape $mytape" 0 $ ... $ cat myfile > $mytape $ ... $ <^D> <$mytape gets unmounted> Rob Warnock UUCP: {sri-unix,amd70,hpda,harpo,ihnp4,allegra}!fortune!rpw3 DDD: (415)595-8444 USPS: Fortune Systems Corp, 101 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City, CA 94065