[REBOL] Re: NTFS Stream Fun
From: atruter:hih:au at: 7-Aug-2002 15:44
> File streaming was obviously designed to solve some
> specific problems, so I am not criticising it
> as such, just the excited reaction as if it is
> some wonderful new way of expressing relationships
> between clumps of data.
I am probably one of those who have an "excited reaction" and for me this
is a "wonderful new way of expressing relationships between clumps of
data"; not necessarily *conceptually new* but new in terms of what I now
know NTFS is capable of, and the fact that REBOL transparently handles
this. No I haven't used this yet and I don't know what it performs like or
what its limitations are, but reducing a set of files like the following:
1.jpg
1.dat
1.png
1.txt
to:
1.jpg
1.jpg:effect
1.jpg:thumbnail
1.txt:description
means all the data related to 1.jpg could now be held in one file. This
means moving, copying, deleting files could be done on a single file basis.
If I later needed to add a PDF file to this list then I would envision that
adding "1.jpg:pdf" would cause less code changes than "1.pdf" as move,
copy, delete operations already act upon the parent. I would also surmise
that code required to ensure data integrity (eg. if 1.jpg is renamed to
2.jpg then all associated files must be renamed to 2.???) becomes simpler.
These possibilities, and the ability to have db-file.csv:key, allow me to
look at simpler ways of arranging and managing my data. If it works [well],
great; if not, at least it was a learning experience. If others shrug at
all this and think "big deal", or, "been there, done that" then that's fine
by me . . . the beauty of REBOL is that different aspects of it [and indeed
the problem domain] will appeal to different folks at different times. ;)
Enjoy!
Regards,
Ashley
