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Message-ID: <2c59f00304113010262063d219@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 23:56:07 +0530
From: Amit Gud <amitgud1@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Amit Gud <amitgud1@gmail.com>
To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: file as a directory
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.53.0411301844100.16712@yvahk01.tjqt.qr>
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I cannot imagine viewing the entire filesystem as a single huge XML file. 

My suggestion is to add a framework, an infrastructure, in the VFS
wherein a simple plugin can be written to poke into the file as if it
were a directory. So with that framework in place, I can write a
plugin for archive support (treating the .tar files as directories),
Peter could write a plugin for poking into /etc/passwd (treating it as
a directory), and Jon Doe could write a plugin for sendmail.cf

like:
--
struct file_operations ops = {
   .read            = tar_readdir,
   .readdir        = tar_readdir,
   ......
};

register_file_type("tar", &ops);
--

How good would this be? 

AG
--
May the source be with you.
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