Liam ProvenMar 4

Passing thoughts on Universal Blue and their ilk...

https://liam-on-linux.dreamwidth.org/97793.html

(Fairly rare tech blog post, from me. Repurposed Lobsters/HN comment, as often the case.)

Passing thoughts on Universal Blue and their ilk...

 It is very odd to me to watch OStree-based distros starting to take off and win recruits.<p>The only reason Red Hat needed to invent this very complex mechanism was because RH does not officially have a COW-snapshot capable filesystem in its enterprise distro.</p> <p>A filesystem with snapshot

Dreamwidth Studios
Show threadGraham PerrinMar 5

@lproven off at a tangent, you might remember … was it Apple, decades ago, that toyed with the idea of a database underlying the file system?

I began using Macs in 1993, so the concept might have been written about some time between 1995 and 1999.

Show threadLiam ProvenMar 5
@grahamperrin Not on Macs or MacOS, no. That's something Microsoft tried and failed to make happen in the early days of Windows NT.
Show threadAslak RaanesMar 5
@lproven @grahamperrin Not what you where thinking of, but the Apple Newton had a database like file system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup_(Apple)?wprov=sfti1
Soup (Apple) - Wikipedia

Show threadLiam ProvenMar 5

@aslakr @grahamperrin Yes it did. I own 2 of them.

A few years ago I did a main programme talk at the FOSDEM conference in Brussels about an OS designed around Intel Optane style persistent memory, which could entirely remove any need for files or filesystems. The Newton was one of my models and examples.

You might find it interesting.

https://archive.fosdem.org/2021/schedule/event/new_type_of_computer/

FOSDEM 2021 - Starting Over

Show threadKirtai 🏳️‍⚧️Mar 5
@lproven @aslakr @grahamperrin
Ooh, that sounds very very cool.
Show threadLiam ProvenMar 5

@kirtai @aslakr @grahamperrin

If, like me, you are more of a reader than a watcher, I also chopped it down to make an article for @theregister ...

https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/26/starting_over_rebooting_the_os/

Starting over: Rebooting the OS stack for fun and profit

Making full effective use of new persistent memory means tearing up the rulebook

The Register
Show threadKirtai 🏳️‍⚧️

@lproven @aslakr @grahamperrin @theregister
As a fan of things like Smalltalk, Oberon and persistent operating systems like KeyKOS I really liked this article  

Btw, did you know that Smalltalk-76 had an object based virtual memory system called OOZE that transparently let you use the whole of memory and disk as one persistent thing?

Mar 5 at 4:25pmWeb
Show threadLiam ProvenMar 5

@kirtai @aslakr @grahamperrin @theregister

I didn't, no. It's hard to find much good info about Smalltalk and its evolution that is accessible to non-programmers.

Show threadKirtai 🏳️‍⚧️Mar 5
@lproven @aslakr @grahamperrin @theregister
This article by Dan Ingalls covers a lot of it, including OOZE.
Show threadLiam ProvenMar 5
@kirtai @aslakr @grahamperrin @theregister Thanks!
Show threadKirtai 🏳️‍⚧️Mar 5

@lproven @aslakr @grahamperrin @theregister
I actually need to reread this myself.

It explains some of the problems I've been having with some recovered files (they're in St74, not St76 as I had assumed)