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SubjectRe: Implementing Meta File information in Linux
   Date: 	Tue, 1 Sep 1998 19:07:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Albert D. Cahalan" <acahalan@cs.uml.edu>

Then we must forget about ACLs, privs, the immutable bit...
We should be using 14-character unix filenames too. No, make
that 8.3 case-insensitive filenames. We must be portable!

There's a difference between metadata which is used by the kernel ---
ACL's, privs, the immutable bit, etc. --- and metadata which is used by
higher-level applications. Metadata which is used by the kernel or the
filesystem should be stored in the filesystem; there's no argument
there. And yes, there is an issue with how you preserve ACL entries and
privileges with tools like tar and cpio. (There are some solutions;
trusted HP-UX has thought about this solution, and has a relatively
elegant solution which we can steal.)

However, for metadata which is used by desktops and applications ---
icons, file types/class, etc. ---- I don't believe we the kernel should
providing such interfaces. In the first place, there's no value added
by having the filesystem do it, as opposed to a user-mode shared
library. In the second place, it adds unneeded complexity to the kernel
and the filesystem. Finally, applications which take advantage of such
a scheme become inherently unportable, and this is not particularly
useful.

Also, keep in mind that Internet Protocols like ftp and http simply
don't support files with multiple data streams. So if we start
encouraging the use of such features, we can easily end up up in a
situation like MacOS, where you have to use cumbersome tools like binhex
before you can ship MacOS files across the Internet without breaking
them.

Horrible! Let's not go there.

- Ted

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