(no subject)

[nibot]

One of my current computer-related projects is to write a Linux filesystem module ('ToyFS') and then try to implement a 'union' filesystem (like in Plan 9). Anyone else interested in this? If I'm successful I'll try to write a 'linux filesystem module how-to'.

Comments

[nibot.livejournal.com]

Linux and FreeBSD both implement a Virtual Filesystem (http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/rgooch/linux/docs/vfs.txt) interface, so I think it will be very similar in each. I don't have the canonical BSD reference (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201549794/splorgdotorg/), but I do have a decent book about the linux kernel (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596002130/splorgdotorg/). Do you by any chance have a campus account (i.e. ocf or csua) by which you could access campus newsgroups? I think we'll be discussing this project mainly at ucb.org.xcf (news:ucb.org.xcf).

Toy = something fun to play with

Union FS = a meta-fs that lets you take two directory trees, rooted at A and B respectively, and form their "union", which will be mounted at C and will appear to contain all those files in A *and* those in B. For an idea of what I'd like to mess with, see the Plan 9 documents (http://plan9.bell-labs.com/sys/doc/index.html).

[kaolinfire.livejournal.com]

I once had an ocf account. I think it's dead (they tend to expire). I have a csua account but lost the password many, many years ago (I don't know if I ever logged in) but the account still seems to exist. I need to get it reseeded or something.

Toy should stand for something, regardless. ;)

union sounds pretty nifty. huh. are there fs hooks for things like that? or would one have to make it an "add it as a library and recompile" sort of thing?

I'm going to be incommunicado for almost a week, but when I get back... :)

[nibot.livejournal.com]

Neither OCF nor CSUA accounts expire. If go to Heller Lounge (OCF) or Soda Hall (CSUA) you can get the password changed.

I'm sure we could find a good backronym for `toy'.

Additional filesystems can be written entirely as modules, so that you compile them, then just type "insmod toyfs", and presto-magico, the filesystem is installed.

The way Plan 9 uses the filesystem namespace is incredibly cool. For instance, rio, the windowing environment (equivalent to X), opens up /dev/console, dev/mouse, etc, and it presents exactly the same interface inside each of its windows. So, you can actually run rio inside of a rio window, ad infinitim. it's very cool.

Vacation?