Where should the type information be: in tags and descriptors 440

Well ... um ... no ... it's not that simple.

When someone says "transfer a file from one system to another", they didn't really tell me enough. If the goal is to transfer the bits of the file exactly as they exist on disk (i.e. image backup) then there is one answer. Note that this answer may require buttembling those bits only on an *identical* physical device. However, if the goal is to transfer the data represented by those bits such that an application will have the same view of the data, then there may be different answer.

You have to think about the application, because the bits only have meaning once the application has read them. Then you have to think about the transfer protocol, because it may or may not have to alter the bits so the target application will extract the same meaning as the source application. Sometimes you get lucky and just need to shuffle the bits across the channel. Usually you do not get lucky :-)

And now we are back to typed files instead of byte streams. Which, of course, are simply one large subset of typed files.

So where should the type information go? I liked OS-1100. The file type and file name were different atributes of the file. Move the file or copy the file, the type information came with. Please nobody mention omnibus files. Thank you.

--

... Hank