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Rewording and clarifying.

This commit is contained in:
Nathaniel Beaver
2015-09-14 10:55:09 -05:00
parent a9c22b425b
commit 393bd6a4e0

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@@ -591,9 +591,9 @@ For example, the Linux port of the `Unity engine`_ has `issues with case-sensiti
https://archive.org/stream/Intro_to_CPM_Feat_and_Facilities/Intro_to_CPM_Feat_and_Facilities_djvu.txt
---------------------
Filename restrictions
---------------------
----------------------
Filename restrictions.
----------------------
In Linux and other Unix-derived operating systems,
the only `characters that cannot appear`_
@@ -712,7 +712,7 @@ up-and-coming filesystems like `Btrfs`_.
Unlike FAT and NTFS filesystems,
ext3 and Btrfs `do not require defragmentation`_
to maintain good performance.
Realistically, though, `defragmentation isn't that important for NTFS`_, either.
(Realistically, though, `defragmentation isn't that important for NTFS`_, either.)
.. _Btrfs: https://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Main_Page
.. _NTFS and FAT: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2007.11.desktopfiles.aspx
@@ -827,12 +827,12 @@ it is sometimes desirable to set old files as read-only,
so that they are still easily accessible,
but are less likely to be accidentally deleted, moved, or modified.
Unfortunately, while the contents of read-only files on Windows cannot be changed,
the files themselves `can be moved, renamed, or deleted`_,
because `folders cannot have a read-only status`_.
On Windows, the content of a read-only file cannot be altered,
but the file itself `can be moved, renamed, or deleted`_,
because the `folder it is in cannot have a read-only status`_.
.. _can be moved, renamed, or deleted: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/prevent-changes-to-a-file-by-setting-it-to-read-only
.. _folders cannot have a read-only status: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/prevent-changes-to-a-file-or-folder-read-only
.. _folder it is in cannot have a read-only status: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/prevent-changes-to-a-file-or-folder-read-only
In Linux, by contrast, a read-only directory cannot have files added to it,
and files in such a directory cannot be moved, renamed, or deleted
@@ -856,8 +856,8 @@ Limitations on access to external volumes
-----------------------------------------
When accessing external volumes such as flash drives,
Windows assigns different capital letters to each volume
each corresponding to a different absolute path root.
Windows assigns different capital letters to each volume,
each letter corresponding to a different absolute path root.
This is necessary for backwards compatibility with MS-DOS,
but it is not without drawbacks.
@@ -865,9 +865,10 @@ Perhaps the most obvious problem
is that there are only 26 letters in the English alphabet.
But what does this mean in practice?
One result is that the assigned drive letter may be different
when a drive is reconnected,
but applications that track recently used files
One consequence is that the assigned drive letter
may be different when a drive is reconnected.
This means that, for example,
applications that track recently used files
will look for files under the old drive letter,
and be unable to find the files.
@@ -891,11 +892,26 @@ Fortunately, there is a solution: NTFS mount points.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Cc938934.aspx
If you're running out of drive letters, one trick is to use a mount point
for each logical drive that you are going to bring into Windows; this way,
performance can be contained to a logical drive and still conform to your
drive letter standards.
[ . . . ]
There are many scenarios in which you would want a large number of drives,
such as multiple databases for Microsoft SQL Server or Exchange Server
installations. Exchange databases are notorious for needing their own
drives per mailbox store and, if you provision out well, you will quickly
run out of drive letters.
--- Rick Vanover
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/the-enterprise-cloud/use-mount-points-if-you-run-out-of-windows-drive-letters/
Unfortunately, Windows doesn't use mount points by default
for external hard drives or flash drives,
possibly because mount points can behave differently than a user might expect.
For example, the recycle bin does not work as expected
on files accessed through mount points.
possibly because mount points behave slightly differently than drive letters.
The problem is the recycle bin. This "undo" option is maintained with a hidden
system file that is on the partition that holds the files being deleted.
@@ -909,24 +925,41 @@ on files accessed through mount points.
http://getyouriton.blogspot.com/2009/08/serious-gotchas-with-mounted-drives-or.html
Not all of this behavior is because of backwards compatibility;
some of it is due to a design choice of the Windows operating system:
the NTFS filesystem has a root directory,
but Windows itself has no single root directory.
While NTFS filesystems have a root directory,
Windows has no unique root directory;
instead, each drive has its own root.
(*My Computer* roughly corresponds to a root directory in concept,
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/151860/root-folder-equivalent-in-windows
*My Computer* roughly corresponds to a root directory in concept,
and looks like a folder when viewed in Windows Explorer,
but there is no actual *My Computer* folder anywhere on the filesystem.)
but there is no *My Computer* folder anywhere on the filesystem.
Instead, *My Computer* is a virtual folder.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/dear-microsoft-its-time-to-stop-using-drive-letters-and-whacks/
Unlike file system folders, users cannot create new virtual folders
themselves. They can only install ones created by non-Microsoft
developers. The number of virtual folders is thus normally much fewer than
the number of file system folders.
[ . . . ]
The file systems of the various disk drives can be seen to be subsets of
the larger namespace hierarchy. The roots of these file systems are
subfolders of the My Computer folder. My Computer also includes the roots
of any mapped network drives.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc144090%28VS.85%29.aspx
Unix, on the other hand,
has a unique root directory called ``/``
and mounts drives (including removable media)_
as directories under the root. [#disk_location]_
and mounts drives (including removable media)
as directories anywhere on the hierarchy. [#disk_location]_
This provides uniform access and permission controls to storage volumes
without requiring new syntax or knowledge of the underlying hardware.
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/93960/why-is-linuxs-filesystem-designed-as-a-single-directory-tree
On Linux, flash drives are mounted under ``/media/``
and are assigned a directory based on their label.
If the drive is removed and re-mounted again,
@@ -945,9 +978,10 @@ https://superuser.com/questions/169980/what-is-trash-and-trash-1000
Multics, the predecessor to Unix,
appears to be the first operating system with a root directory
(called ``>`` instead of ``/``)
and a hierarchical filesystem underneath it.
.. TODO: source
http://www.multicians.org/mgr.html#root
However, the motivations for such a scheme go back further.
One of the most influential time-sharing systems,