Re: [9front] /proc/n/fd format clarification

[Anthony Martin <ality@pbrane.org>]

binary cat <dogedoge61@gmail.com> once said:
> A format that seems to have fixed width fields, but actually doesn't,
>
> [...]
>
> Either way, I do think the documentation should be clearer about this.

Fixed width fields are called out explicitly in the manuals whenever
they're used, as in draw(3),

	Each client of the device connects by opening /dev/draw/new
	and reading 12 strings, each 11 characters wide followed by
	a blank:

or acme(4),

	When read, it returns the value of the address that would
	next be read or written through the data file, formatted as
	2 decimal numbers m and n, each formatted in 11 characters
	plus a blank.

or font(6),

	Each number is right-justified and blank padded in 11 chara-
	cters, followed by a blank.

and so on. Assuming something that isn't actually written down in
the documentation is not a good idea.

> What I would do is keep the qid version as decimal (for backward
> compatibility), but simply pad it enough (10 spaces) so it's fixed
> width, like the rest of the fields. This would mean you wouldn't have
> to read through the whole file to get the filename.

This still wouldn't work since the third field, the type, is a
single UTF-8 encoded Unicode rune which is not a fixed width.

Cheers,
  Anthony