Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!usfvax2!pdn!reggie From: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: more rm insanity Summary: 8th Edition Networking Rob Pike & P.J. Weinberger Message-ID: <1908@pdn.UUCP> Date: 15 Dec 87 16:48:59 GMT References: <1257@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <6840002@hpcllmv.HP.COM> <9555@mimsy.UUCP> <431@minya.UUCP> Organization: Paradyne Corporation, Largo FL Lines: 55 In article <431@minya.UUCP>, jc@minya.UUCP (John Chambers) writes: [ discussion of how wildcard characters break with most network access to files on remote machines] > > ...makes no sense to me. > Nor to me. Ane there are "network" Unix systems where it works. For example, > with the Newcastle Connection, you can find out about network nodes at the > same level as your system by typing: > ls /../* > Other wildcard expansions work similarly, because "/../" is implemented as > a normal directory. (It is actually a special file, of course, within which > is hidden the network.) > On a more general note, part of the problem is the widespread violation of > the object-oriented design of Unix. Objects are, of course, called "files", > and operators are called "processes"............ [ text deleted here.... discussion of how most networking solutions are a kludge that break the model of UNIX, where any and all operations that act upon files are not necessarily valid across a network connection ] The Eight Edition UNIX addressed this problem as well. While at Bellcore I worked on a machine that was part of a collection of machines runninv v8, all connected to a Datakit Switch, that formed a natural hierarchy above the various machines: /n/indra/i5/reggie, would access my home directory from one of ther other machines on the switch, eg. koura, vishnu, matha, ..... Although we were disconnected after divestiture, there also existed a network of these datakit switches. The file system hierarchy was extended to provide names for the site (eg. mh for Murray Hill) and the particular lab in which the desired machine resided. For example, to reach my brother at Bell Labs in Liberty Corners, NJ the path would have been: /lc/garage/pierce/jpl2. For more information on the v8 file system, the naming problem with networks of UNIX machines, and other similar solutions (eg. The Newcastle Connection) and problems (eg. The IBIS remote file system on 4.2 BSD) see Rob Pike, and P.J. Weinberger The Hideous Name Summer 1985 USENIX Conference Proceedings Portland, Oregon, June 11-14, 1985, pp. 563-568. Perhaps someone at AT&T could expand upon this theme and describe the current scheme. -- George W. Leach Paradyne Corporation {gatech,rutgers,attmail}!codas!pdn!reggie Mail stop LF-207 Phone: (813) 530-2376 P.O. Box 2826 Largo, FL 34649-2826