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- Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy
- Path: sparky!uunet!mcsun!sun4nl!dutrun!donau!dutecaj.et.tudelft.nl!linstee
- From: linstee@dutecaj.et.tudelft.nl (Erik van Linstee)
- Subject: Re: Windows 3.1 an "operating system"?
- Message-ID: <1992Nov09.103520.20447@donau.et.tudelft.nl>
- Sender: news@donau.et.tudelft.nl (UseNet News System)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: dutecaj.et.tudelft.nl
- Organization: Delft University of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering
- References: <1992Oct30.063336.22063@muddcs.claremont.edu> <1992Nov8.133227.16331@u.washington.edu> <1992Nov08.163540.8348@donau.et.tudelft.nl> <1992Nov9.042844.10633@u.washington.edu>
- Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1992 10:35:20 GMT
- Lines: 54
-
- tzs@carson.u.washington.edu (Tim Smith) writes:
-
- >linstee@dutecaj.et.tudelft.nl (Erik van Linstee) writes:
- >>>that implement the file system in a user-mode process?
- >>
- >>Explain.
-
- >Sure, consider a system that implements the file system as follows:
-
- > 1. There is a device driver that provides block-level access to
- > the disk drive.
-
- > 2. There is a process that uses that device driver and understands
- > and maintains the filesystem data structures on the disk.
-
- > 3. Processes that wish to access files use an interprocess
- > communication mechanism to request the file data from the
- > above filesystem manager process.
-
- I see.
-
- >If someone's system did this, would it no longer be an operating system?
-
-
- The OS manages the harware, being the disk drive, and offers a
- service to applications to use it, though at a rather low level.
- Furthermore a piece of software offers a filesystem from the
- raw OS service.
- Now, either, you consider this process (an installable) part
- of the OS, or if you don't, you still have an OS without a
- filesystem, which is perfectly alright.
- In the latter case the filesystem process is much like a newsagent
- under UNIX. Not a necesarry extension, so applications do not
- relly on it being there, but if it is, they can make use of its
- services.
- The hardware is still managed by the OS, so the definition of the
- OS still stands. I do however have to adjust my statement that
- if there is a filesystem it should be managed by the OS, which
- should read, if there is disk device it should be managed by the
- OS. Of course applications can extend these services, like X does
- to the graphics device. Of course the disk device is already
- captured under the statement that hardware is managed by the OS,
- but that doesn't seem obvious to anyone.
-
- Erik
-
-
-
-
- --
- Erik van Linstee | Delft University of Technology | I'll be back ...
- ----
- We are god, 'cause only we can create the idea of his existence
- in our holy brains... (Yello)
-