Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!mailrus!ames!amdahl!bungia!meccts!meccsd!prw From: prw@meccsd.MECC.MN.ORG (Paul R. Wenker) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Re: GS/OS Questions Message-ID: <1021@meccsd.MECC.MN.ORG> Date: 27 Sep 88 14:34:42 GMT References: <8809250103.aa23938@SMOKE.BRL.MIL> Reply-To: prw@meccsd.UUCP (Paul R. Wenker) Organization: MECC Lines: 51 In article <8809250103.aa23938@SMOKE.BRL.MIL> V112PDL5@UBVMS.BITNET writes: >Quotes by Keith Rollin: >>As for Mac disk support, it doesn't currently transparently read Mac disks, but >>the potential is certainly there. GS/OS performs ALL device reads through >>FSTs (File System Translators) and RAM based device drivers. A 3.5" drive >>device driver is already included with GS/OS, but there is no HFS FST. The >>FSTs currently supplied are ProDOS, High Sierra, and Console - an FST for >>character I/O to the screen and from the keyboard. > > The words "3.5" device driver" coming from Apple makes me nervous >as an owner of a non-Apple hard drive. Remember Apple's printer driver for >the Mac was so complex that (at first) one printer manufacturer switched to >selling Imagewriter compatibles to avoid the trouble of writing their own >drivers. The format of GS/OS device drivers (and printer/port drivers for that matter) is relatively simple and well documented. There really is no comparison to the Mac. Unfortunatly, the format of FSTs is not documented. However, Apple has said that they are planning to do HFS and Appletalk FSTs in the future. > Look at these quotes from Volume 10, Issue 38 of InfoWorld about GS/OS: >"[GS/OS comes]...with an application model that increases its similarity to >the Mac." and "The new OS lets files have data and resource forks, the >same structure used in Mac applications." At first this seemed that Apple >would phaze out ProDOS in favor of Mac HFS (something I would like to see) >making massive changes to APW in the process. But GS/OS doesn't even support >HFS. I have heard nothing of this since I've read it though. Hmmmm.... Keith >do you know something I don't? Just because GS/OS allows calls that support data and resource forks doesn't mean that every FST has to support them. The beauty of GS/OS is that it is flexible enough to support all sorts of operating systems. There is no need to phaze out ProDOS in favor of, because with GS/OS you can have both OS's coexisting transparently. > By the bye, our local (North East) Apple dealer trainer (whatever his real >title is) mentioned that initially Apple had developed software enabling GSs >to serve as File Servers over AppleShare, but it was dumped citing abysmal >performance. With the faster GS/OS may this decision be revised? It kind of >hurts one's pride. Having 10-20 users doing AppleShare I/O will bring a Mac II server to it's knees. Since 30 user computer labs are quite common in schools (which is primarily where AppleShare for the II is targeted), there is good reason why Apple recommends a Mac II as a server. -Paul Wenker prw@meccsd.MECC.MN.ORG -MECC, Technical Services