68 lines
1.7 KiB
Plaintext
68 lines
1.7 KiB
Plaintext
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The PIPE filesystem arose in answer to the question: how can I save
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all or part of a Linux system onto/ via a DOS computer or a Novell
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fileserver? The PIPE filesystem was designed as a quick attempt to
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solve this problem
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In the PIPE filesystem either shell scripts or Linux programs can be
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stored. These programs are treated on the client side (eg DOS) like
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simple files. Opening these files via the client causes a popen of the
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programs. The server passes as the first parameter either CREAT READ
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or WRITE, depending on the mode of the corresponding openfile
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operation. This allows the PIPE filesystem to provide a direct
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interface between client applications and Linux programs.
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The problem stated above could then be solved with the following
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simple shell script, which was stored in the PIPE-filesystem:
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#!/bin/sh
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case "$1" in
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'CREAT')
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;;
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'WRITE')
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cd /u3 && tar -xf - 2>> /tmp/tar.in
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# restore directory /u3/mar
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;;
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'READ')
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cd /u3 && tar -cf - mar 2> /dev/null
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# save directory /u3/mar
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;;
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*)
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;;
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esac
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Under DOS this 'Pipe File' can now be 'copied' into a local file using
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the Copy command (->save), or the local file can be copied into this
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'Pipe File' (->restore).
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A simple print operation can be achieved with the following script:
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#!/bin/sh
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case "$1" in
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'WRITE')
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/usr/bin/lpr
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;;
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*)
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;;
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esac
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Various unix programs can be invoked with the following script, after
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it has been linked with the required program name.
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#!/bin/sh
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case "$1" in
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'READ')
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/usr/bin/`basename $0`
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;;
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*)
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;;
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esac
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I would appreciate hearing about further documented applications of
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the PIPE filesystem or suggestions for other ways of using it.
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Martin
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