[Info-vax] CRTL and RMS vs SSIO

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2021-10-07 07:54:51 +0000, Lawrence D’Oliveiro said:

> On Thursday, October 7, 2021 at 5:12:58 PM UTC+13, Dave Froble wrote:
>> Frankly, (and yes, I'm biased), I find records reasonable, and a stream 
>> of bytes baffling and confusing. Guess it's what one is used to.
> 
> Trouble is, there are many binary file formats that do not map easily 
> to a simple sequence of records (of whatever delimitation). Consider 
> the IFF family of file formats, for example: these are built out of 
> chunks, and certain chunk types can contain other chunks.
> 
> For another example, consider file formats like TIFF and TTF, where 
> there is a directory that identifies the location and size of the 
> various major pieces. Oh, and PDF comes under this as well.
> 
> And then there are text-based format families, like XML, JSON, YAML, TOML ...

There are many examples. It's far easier to map a whole executable 
image into virtual memory or to use file system calls to load the whole 
image into virtual memory, too.  (This is an app design I never would 
have considered on a VAX, too.)

For a number of apps and designs, I find RMS problematic for its 
fondness for records in the lower parts of its position within the I/O 
stack "funnel", and problematic again at somewhat higher levels of the 
I/O stack "funnel" with what little RMS can do with those database 
records it wants to enforce; its lack of marshaling and unmarshaling 
for apps needing those services, among other sorts of designs, and with 
all the usual "fun" with making changes to the contents and formats of 
RMS records within apps.

Trying to make all apps fit within one NoSQL database really isn't all 
that great of a solution. Getting PostgreSQL, SQLite, and other 
databases better integrated is helpful. Longer-term and as I'd 
mentioned in another reply, demoting 32-bit RMS to "just another local 
database" status, too.

And to be absolutely clear here: if an app developer needs a NoSQL 
database and as many apps can, having 32-bit RMS is entirely useful. At 
least until the app developer needs to make changes or additions to the 
record structures, when 32-bit RMS starts showing its age. A problem 
related to how we now have roughly two-dozen files necessary within a 
cluster configuration.


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