Re: [9fans] New /prog idea

[erik quanstrom <quanstro@quanstro.net>]

> On Sun, May 04, 2014 at 08:53:39PM -0400, erik quanstrom wrote:
> > 
> > On Sun May  4 18:01:22 EDT 2014, yshurik@lynxline.com wrote:
> > 
> > > 
> > > Just idea, but seriously, why cannot do something like this:
> > > 
> > > # cat /prog/new > $id
> > > # cat /dis/ls.dis > /prog/$id/dis
> > > # echo "/" > /prog/$id/cwd
> > > # echo «Running» > /prog/$id/status
> > > 
> > > Not to do it which echo/cat, but to have remote access to /prog/new
> > 
> > so that's an interesting idea.  i've toyed with the idea of having
> > a mount driver analog for system calls, but got tripped up on
> > the details, and the lack of a specific need.
> 
> The Bell Labs paper about plan9 talks about metaphors that can be
> abused: "Nonetheless, it is possible to push the idea of file-base
> computing too far." This the "Discussion" at the end of the paper...
> Playing with the idea and thinking about the implementation is probably
> a good way to understand the paper...

i think it's possible to take the papers too far.  :-)  the plan 9 group was
in my opinion one of the best ever.  but that part of the discussion is
a opinion, and was taylored for a very different world, and a different
operating system.  the opinion was about plan 9 in the early 90s.  not
inferno today when the internet is ubiquitious.  i'd be interested in the
argument that things haven't changed enough to call for some reevaulation.

additionally, i think it is very interesting to consider a plan 9-like system
that has system call namespaces.  it is perhaps a way to deal with hetrogenious
multiprocessors, or even numa "machines" with big numa differences.  like, say,
a cluster.

- erik