Re: ext2fs enhacement/fix [re: shrinking directories]

Anthony Barbachan (barbacha@trill.cis.fordham.edu)
Fri, 17 Jul 1998 03:16:16 -0400

How about a simple utility, added to the ext2 utilities, that compacts
directories that can be run periodically as the user wishes. By the way
don't these ghost entries hamper performance, albeit possibly by a
negligible amount. I would think that these ghost entries get processed
along with the other entries whenever the directory is accessed. And if
this utility is made other file system optimization options can be thrown
in. Perhaps the directory entries can be sorted by their last access date
as the directory is compacted so as to improve file access performance.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Deppner <ted@jasmine.psyber.com>
To: Chad C Giffin <typo@t-net.org>; linux-kernel@vger.rutgers.edu
<linux-kernel@vger.rutgers.edu>
Date: Thursday, July 16, 1998 1:27 PM
Subject: Re: ext2fs enhacement/fix [re: shrinking directories]

>On Thu, Jul 16, 1998 at 12:33:50AM -0400, Chad C Giffin wrote:
>> Although it is really not a problem for most that directory files do not
>> shrink on removal of directory entries, it still is a problem for some
and
>> should not be ignored IMO.
>>
>> I'd like to propose a solution that is not too complicated.
>
>[acceptable solution (if properly implimented) deleted]
>
>I'd like to pose the question, Is this really necessary?
>
>On your home machine I can't imagine more than 1mb on the average system
being
>wasted to this excess.
>
>On a server, I can't imagine _wanting_ to recover space (under any scheme)
>when most servers have a cyclic nature, and even if space were saved for a
>period of time, there was a time (hours or days ago) when the directory
NEEDED
>to be that large.
>
>And on busy servers, where you might have 20-30 mb tied up this way (a news
>machine just after expires), within 12 to 24 hours they'll be full again.
>
>In any case, I always have 100's of extra MBs of drive space laying around.
>Even if I could recover 50mb for 12 hours or a week, it I wouldn't care,
it's
>such a minor thing.
>
>--
>Ted Deppner
>ted@psyber.com
>http://www.psyber.com
>
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