278 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
278 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
This is Mitra's understanding of Prospero's different naming schemes and
|
|
their interrelationship, based upon phone conversations with Steve.
|
|
|
|
I found
|
|
and still find these incredibly confusing, and this is a first cut at
|
|
a summary. I've neccessarily skipped over much of the details to avoid
|
|
confusing the reader. I'm using examples based upon our system which -
|
|
I believe - accepts all the sensible defaults. The system is flexible
|
|
enough that none of this could be correct, but in that case you'd probably
|
|
know enough not to be reading this.
|
|
|
|
There are three different naming schemes for files around Prospero.
|
|
|
|
A) The regular unix filename, this is rarely used in Prospero
|
|
|
|
B) User-level-names, which are relative to virtual file systems. Similarly to
|
|
unix filenames, if you specify these without leading /, then they are
|
|
relative to the current working directory. (see environment below)
|
|
user-level names are always relative to the virtual file system you
|
|
are set up in. This is the state set up by the "vfsetup" command.
|
|
|
|
C) Hsonames - Host Specific Object Names, always accompanied by a host(port)
|
|
to specify which host(port) it's meaningfull at. This concept is often
|
|
simplified to "hsoname". Except in the case of gateways, hsonames are
|
|
usually the real (unix) name of the file on the remote system.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Who uses what names
|
|
-------------------
|
|
Most of the data structures - vlink, vdirs etc use host(port) and hsoname (C).
|
|
|
|
Various functions map between them - especially rd_vlink will take a User-level
|
|
name (B), and return a vlink (host(port) and hsoname) (C)
|
|
|
|
Most commands - e.g. set_atr take User-level names (B)
|
|
|
|
vln -n is used to create a user-level name (B) for a hsoname (C)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Variations on User Level names
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
The way that a user-level name appears is significantly more complicated
|
|
than a standard unix filename. For what follows, lets assume you
|
|
are set up in the Virtual File System "aol", and that your system is setup
|
|
the way most are.
|
|
|
|
/ is the root of your virtual system
|
|
xxx/yyy is relative to the current workign directory (see vwd)
|
|
swa:/zzz means /zzz relative to the virtual file system "swa"
|
|
#/INET/EDU/ISI/swa means the swa virtual file system on isi.edu, this is
|
|
sometimes called a global-name, with # being the global root.
|
|
swa:zzz Has a currently undefined meeting DONT USE IT
|
|
|
|
In reality, these are all based upon certain links being
|
|
present in the user-level directory /VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS.
|
|
|
|
Expressed differently, your virtual system looks like this
|
|
/ Root of virtual system
|
|
/aol Typically your home directory.
|
|
/VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS/ Links to other virtual systems
|
|
/VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS/swa/ Link to swa's virtual system description (also
|
|
often stated as "link to swa's virtual system"). This
|
|
can also be expressed as swa:/VS-DESCRIPTION
|
|
/VIRUTAL-SYSTEMS/swa/ROOT Link to the root of swa's virtual system system. This
|
|
can also be expressed as swa:/
|
|
/VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS/#/ Link to global root aka "#/"
|
|
/VS-DESCRIPTION/ Definition of your virtual system
|
|
/VS-DESCRIPTION/ROOT/ Root of your virtual system same as "/"
|
|
/VS-DESCRIPTION/HOME/ Home directory, "cwd" at startup, same as /aol
|
|
|
|
|
|
To link a virtual system into this - use the command
|
|
vln #/INET/EDU/ISI/swa:/VS-DESCRIPTION /VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS/swa
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unix filesystem to virtual file system
|
|
--------------------------------------
|
|
hsoname's map to Unix names real easy - they are the same except for hsonames
|
|
that don't start with a slash. e.g.: GOPHER-GW/PATH.NET(8001)/1/
|
|
|
|
user-level names are more complicated, the root of the "aol" virtual file
|
|
system will (according to swa) typically be /usr/pfs/pfsdat/local-vsystems/aol
|
|
|
|
On our system, I find the following structure:
|
|
|
|
/usr/pfs Root of our prospero data area
|
|
/usr/pfs/pfsdat Real hierarchy of prospero data
|
|
/usr/pfs/pfsdat/vs Dont know what this is - there is NOTHING in it
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow Start of shadow hierarcy, links and attributes
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/xyz Shadow hierarchy for Unix directory /xyz
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat Shadow of data area
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/local_vsystems/aol root of aol virtual system
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/local_vsystems/master virtual-systems directory
|
|
is master copy of all vs's at this site
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdata/local_vsystems/master/storage specifies
|
|
hosts where virtual-systems on this site can be stored
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/local_vsystems/protoype copied by newvs
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/vs/ junk created by newpsite?
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/vs:1 ditto
|
|
|
|
Each directory in the shadow typically contains a file
|
|
".directory#contents" with attribute information and links in it.
|
|
(This is soon to be supreseded by .directory#object)
|
|
|
|
Environment variables
|
|
---------------------
|
|
Certain environment variables give the base which maps user-level names to
|
|
hsonames and Unix names. vfsetup sets these up. The hsoname is always the
|
|
Unix name for the directory, but beware, this directory may only exist under
|
|
the shadow hierarchy.
|
|
VSWORK User-level name for cwd
|
|
VSWORK_HOST Host of cwd
|
|
VSWORK_FILE hsname of cwd
|
|
VSDESC_HOST and VSDESC_FILE host and hsoname of VSDESCRIPTION directory
|
|
this always has the user-level name of /VS-DESCRIPTION
|
|
VSHOME,VSHOME_HOST and VSHOME_FILE user-level, host and hsoname of
|
|
home directory.
|
|
VSROOT_HOST and VSROOT_FILE host and hsoname of Root directory
|
|
this always has the user-level name of /
|
|
(Note at some time the _FILE variables will probably be replaced with _HSONAME)
|
|
|
|
Other information:
|
|
------------------
|
|
See the manual 5.1 for more details (but absolutely ZERO examples)
|
|
vwp - will tell you the host and hsoname of the current working directory
|
|
vwd - will give the user-level name of the cwd.
|
|
|
|
Whats wrong with this!
|
|
----------------------
|
|
|
|
Having described it, here are some ideas on what is wrong with it.
|
|
*) Hsonames are long, and expose internal directory structure
|
|
to external view. Clients shoudlnt need to have to know where
|
|
my prospero directories are kept. Contrast gopher, where paths
|
|
are short and typically something like / or /Agriculture
|
|
|
|
*) Confusion of two names (hsoname and virtual name). And two
|
|
physical directory trees (real and shadow)
|
|
|
|
*) object-pool, picking another arbitrary location for directories
|
|
that appear only in the shadow hierarchy but not in the real hierarchy is
|
|
a bad move. Especially since many of these are going to aquire real
|
|
files at some point (e.g. About files).
|
|
|
|
*) Multiple steps for simple operations - e.g. needing vmkdir and mkdir
|
|
to create something, causes potential for mistakes.
|
|
|
|
*) vmv is not available, and really hard to do by hand, since
|
|
the things you are trying to move are in multiple locations.
|
|
|
|
This is Mitra's understanding of Prospero's different naming schemes and
|
|
their interrelationship, based upon phone conversations with Steve.
|
|
|
|
I found
|
|
and still find these incredibly confusing, and this is a first cut at
|
|
a summary. I've neccessarily skipped over much of the details to avoid
|
|
confusing the reader. I'm using examples based upon our system which -
|
|
I believe - accepts all the sensible defaults. The system is flexible
|
|
enough that none of this could be correct, but in that case you'd probably
|
|
know enough not to be reading this.
|
|
|
|
There are three different naming schemes for files around Prospero.
|
|
|
|
A) The regular unix filename, this is rarely used in Prospero
|
|
|
|
B) User-level-names, which are relative to virtual file systems. Similarly to
|
|
unix filenames, if you specify these without leading /, then they are
|
|
relative to the current working directory. (see environment below)
|
|
user-level names are always relative to the virtual file system you
|
|
are set up in. This is the state set up by the "vfsetup" command.
|
|
|
|
C) Hsonames - Host Specific Object Names, always accompanied by a host(port)
|
|
to specify which host(port) it's meaningfull at. This concept is often
|
|
simplified to "hsoname". Except in the case of gateways, hsonames are
|
|
usually the real (unix) name of the file on the remote system.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Who uses what names
|
|
-------------------
|
|
Most of the data structures - vlink, vdirs etc use host(port) and hsoname (C).
|
|
|
|
Various functions map between them - especially rd_vlink will take a User-level
|
|
name (B), and return a vlink (host(port) and hsoname) (C)
|
|
|
|
Most commands - e.g. set_atr take User-level names (B)
|
|
|
|
vln -n is used to create a user-level name (B) for a hsoname (C)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Variations on User Level names
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
The way that a user-level name appears is significantly more complicated
|
|
than a standard unix filename. For what follows, lets assume you
|
|
are set up in the Virtual File System "aol", and that your system is setup
|
|
the way most are.
|
|
|
|
/ is the root of your virtual system
|
|
xxx/yyy is relative to the current workign directory (see vwd)
|
|
swa:/zzz means /zzz relative to the virtual file system "swa"
|
|
#/INET/EDU/ISI/swa means the swa virtual file system on isi.edu, this is
|
|
sometimes called a global-name, with # being the global root.
|
|
swa:zzz Has a currently undefined meeting DONT USE IT
|
|
|
|
In reality, these are all based upon certain links being
|
|
present in the user-level directory /VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS.
|
|
|
|
Expressed differently, your virtual system looks like this
|
|
/ Root of virtual system
|
|
/aol Typically your home directory.
|
|
/VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS/ Links to other virtual systems
|
|
/VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS/swa/ Link to swa's virtual system description (also
|
|
often stated as "link to swa's virtual system"). This
|
|
can also be expressed as swa:/VS-DESCRIPTION
|
|
/VIRUTAL-SYSTEMS/swa/ROOT Link to the root of swa's virtual system system. This
|
|
can also be expressed as swa:/
|
|
/VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS/#/ Link to global root aka "#/"
|
|
/VS-DESCRIPTION/ Definition of your virtual system
|
|
/VS-DESCRIPTION/ROOT/ Root of your virtual system same as "/"
|
|
/VS-DESCRIPTION/HOME/ Home directory, "cwd" at startup, same as /aol
|
|
|
|
|
|
To link a virtual system into this - use the command
|
|
vln #/INET/EDU/ISI/swa:/VS-DESCRIPTION /VIRTUAL-SYSTEMS/swa
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unix filesystem to virtual file system
|
|
--------------------------------------
|
|
hsoname's map to Unix names real easy - they are the same except for hsonames
|
|
that don't start with a slash. e.g.: GOPHER-GW/PATH.NET(8001)/1/
|
|
|
|
user-level names are more complicated, the root of the "aol" virtual file
|
|
system will (according to swa) typically be /usr/pfs/pfsdat/local-vsystems/aol
|
|
|
|
On our system, I find the following structure:
|
|
|
|
/usr/pfs Root of our prospero data area
|
|
/usr/pfs/pfsdat Real hierarchy of prospero data
|
|
/usr/pfs/pfsdat/vs Dont know what this is - there is NOTHING in it
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow Start of shadow hierarcy, links and attributes
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/xyz Shadow hierarchy for Unix directory /xyz
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat Shadow of data area
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/local_vsystems/aol root of aol virtual system
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/local_vsystems/master virtual-systems directory
|
|
is master copy of all vs's at this site
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdata/local_vsystems/master/storage specifies
|
|
hosts where virtual-systems on this site can be stored
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/local_vsystems/protoype copied by newvs
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/vs/ junk created by newpsite?
|
|
/usr/pfs/shadow/usr/pfs/pfsdat/vs:1 ditto
|
|
|
|
Each directory in the shadow typically contains a file
|
|
".directory#contents" with attribute information and links in it.
|
|
(This is soon to be supreseded by .directory#object)
|
|
|
|
Environment variables
|
|
---------------------
|
|
Certain environment variables give the base which maps user-level names to
|
|
hsonames and Unix names. vfsetup sets these up. The hsoname is always the
|
|
Unix name for the directory, but beware, this directory may only exist under
|
|
the shadow hierarchy.
|
|
VSWORK User-level name for cwd
|
|
VSWORK_HOST Host of cwd
|
|
VSWORK_FILE hsname of cwd
|
|
VSDESC_HOST and VSDESC_FILE host and hsoname of VSDESCRIPTION directory
|
|
this always has the user-level name of /VS-DESCRIPTION
|
|
VSHOME,VSHOME_HOST and VSHOME_FILE user-level, host and hsoname of
|
|
home directory.
|
|
VSROOT_HOST and VSROOT_FILE host and hsoname of Root directory
|
|
this always has the user-level name of /
|
|
(Note at some time the _FILE variables will probably be replaced with _HSONAME)
|
|
|
|
Other information:
|
|
------------------
|
|
See the manual 5.1 for more details (but absolutely ZERO examples)
|
|
vwp - will tell you the host and hsoname of the current working directory
|
|
vwd - will give the user-level name of the cwd.
|
|
|