From: Kevin Brown (kevin@nuchat.sccsi.com)
Date: 07/13/92


From: kevin@nuchat.sccsi.com (Kevin Brown)
Subject: Re: linux on CDROM.
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1992 03:09:07 GMT

In article <1992Jul8.170525.8293@morrow.stanford.edu> bir7@leland.Stanford.EDU (Ross Biro) writes:
> With the ability to mount a regular file as a file system, wouldn't
>it be possible to use a ISO9660 file system, with a file on it that faked
>a real filesystem. I.E. in the root directory of the cd-rom have a file
>called Mountme. When you mount it you get the exact same files as on
>the cdrom, but with there full names and a reasonable directory layout.
>It would require putting all the inodes and directories in one file, and
>perhaps faking out some of the file system code, but I don't think it
>would be that big of a problem. It would really give Linux the best
>of both worlds.

Dude, you have a really twisted mind. :-)

I think it's a *great* idea!!!

Along the same lines, though, you could have a single tar file on the file
system, called Untarme.

If you have the ability to mount a regular file as a file system, and you
have a tar file system type, you can mount the file (readonly, of course)
and treat it the way you would treat any other readonly file-system.

And if you *don't* have the ability to mount a regular file, you can still
manipulate the file with tar.

That way you get maximum flexibility and widest distribution potential.

>Ross Biro bir7@leland.stanford.edu

-- 
                                Kevin Brown

kevin@nuchat.sccsi.com kevin@taronga.taronga.com