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From: gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: unrming files (was: stupidity in directory management?)
Message-ID: <6155@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 23-Jul-87 02:22:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.6155
Posted: Thu Jul 23 02:22:08 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 25-Jul-87 05:48:34 EDT
References: <603@nonvon.UUCP> <27300013@ccvaxa> <705@sol.ARPA>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) )
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 20

What is all this?  I thought this was UNIX-WIZARDS?
So why all the discussion about how to ADD unnecessary
stuff to the OS kernel?

The UNIX kernel has fully enough hooks to support
applications managing file backups any way they wish.
The raw UNIX system (and its shell user interface)
has no business implementing any PARTICULAR file
backup strategy; at that level it should do as it's
told (copy data, remove a link, etc.) without trying
to second-guess user intentions.  Any specific policy
for file management should be imposed by end-user
interfaces -- which the UNIX shell is emphatically NOT.

If you don't have a Macintosh-like user agent, then
use my "Adventure shell" that knows how to reincarnate
dead beasties.  But don't clutter up the simple, direct
program/programmer support environment with crap that
assumes something non-universal about user intentions.
It gets in the way of effective control of one's tools.