unity-design team mailing list archive

[Adrian Maier <syraxes@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 11:32, Matt Richardson
<m.richardson.1990@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Whilst it's great that finding applications can now be done by tags, I was
> actually referring to replacing the whole folder/fie system with tags.

You can already have that :     just save every file in a single
directory and prefix each file name with "music_ "  or  "job_ "   or
"porn_"   or whatever tag you like.

If you search for "job"   you'll get  the list of file tagged with "job"  !


So there is no need to reinvent how do the operating systems handle
the files and directories .


> i.e. When I save something, I no longer select the folder to save it into, I
> simply choose from a list of pre-existinsg tags (defaults and ones I have
> previously created) or type in a box to add a new tag.

Sounds like a nightmare to have a filesystem that works that way.
Fortunately it's extremely unlikely to see it happening  .

The hierachical directories is concept too deeply used in all
operating systems .   It will not go away just because many users use
their computers only for web and searching  photos/videos/music .


> The single biggest advantage to me of this system is that I can place a
> single document in multiple locations.

> One problem which would need to be overcome would be unique naming (since
> files are no longer separated by folders)

Exactly :    the file names would become unique within the partition .

This would break the source code tree of tons of applications  :  the
sources are typically organized as a directory tree  where each
subdirectory has its own Makefile .

No software developer could ever work with an experimental
tags-based filesystem .


> On the other hand, I haven't before explored how easy it is to create
> hardlinks. I just did. The answer is very easy (Middle click drag and drop)
> Since this solves the multiple location issue, but without dragging up its
> own set of problems, perhaps I should just use this.


It might be able to build a filemanager  designed around the idea of
file labels ,  with the ability to make it super-easy to create
symlinks/hardlinks .

But this can only be an alternative presentation  : underneath there
has to be a normal filesystem.



-- 
Adrian