Re: GSoC, translators

[Dieter Baron <dillo%KD119105101110.ppp-bb.dion.ne.jp@localhost>]

In article <200804261803.OAA10839%Sparkle.Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA@localhost> der 
wrote:
: >> - vfs modifications to allow "mounting" on non-directories
: > You've mentioned this several times, but I don't understand what it
: > means.

: I would assume that it means that in "mount -t foo bar /some/where" (or
: the API analog thereof), /some/where does not have to be a directory.

: What else could it mean?

  Translators are user-land processes that implement file systems,
similar to what puffs/fuse does.

  There are two kinds of translators: 

- active translators, which are started by user-land before being
accessed, and are pretty much what puffs/fuse gives us.

- passive translators, which are started by the kernel when needed.
You can set a passive translator on an inode, and when that inode is
accessed, the kernel starts the recorded translator (with the recorded
arguments) and asks it to handle the request.

  (I may have gotten the details wrong (it's been a while since I
looked at the Hurd), but that's the basic idea behind translators).


                                yours,
                                dillo