Re: linux on HFS? why not HPFS instead?

Matthias Urlichs (smurf@smurf.noris.de)
Mon, 6 May 1996 22:04:26 +0100


In linux.dev.kernel, article <Pine.LNX.3.91.960505013422.874C-100000@br=
ando>,
Kevin M Bealer <kmb203@psu.edu> writes:
>=20
> I have seen read-only HPFS utilities for DOS, (back when I was into O=
S/2)
> and from the instructions it was implied that _reading_ a HPFS partit=
ion was
> not bad, but that _writing_ to one was difficult... as if there was s=
ome
> really messy programming that had to be done to get everything back i=
n the
> right place.
>=20
Right. HPFS (and HFS for the Mac, incidentally), use something like B-t=
rees
to organize their data. These trees are _very_ easy to read, but writin=
g
and deleting them is rather difficult and can run into all kinds of wei=
rd
problems. For instance, you might have a three-level tree, and an inser=
t
might split that three all the way to the top, and add a fourth level.
Unfortunately, halfway through somebody else allocates all the free spa=
ce,
and you have to undo everything.

> (of course, you could use a dos partition that everyone cvan read.)
>=20
That's ugly, too...

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