Re: A Customer's Request For Open Source Software

[chris <spamoff.danx@ntlworld.com>]

Robert I. Eachus wrote:
> 
> Apple has also recently started shipping 64-bit machines based on the 
> new PowerPC chip from IBM.  And if you are into masochism, there is 
> Intel's Itanium2.  (Speaking only as a compiler developer, of course. 
> ;-)  So in a few years, almost all server hardware should allow users to 
> avoid the file system and address enough memory for most accounting 
> systems and databases.  

What do you mean 'avoid the file system'?  I've heard people say if vast 
amounts of persistant ram storage become available file systems will be 
given the boot.  Is that what you meant?  If so I can't see it.  You 
still have to know where things are and more importantly you need a 
conceptual association with data.  That's all a file system is really, a 
way to name blocks of data (people won't be able to remember 100 64bit 
addresses, even in hex).  Everything else is just built on top of that 
simple idea.  The details may (will) change but it'll still be a file 
system.  (Just a really fast, abundant and abused* one).


 > Of course, someone will then invent a use for
> all that memory...
> 

Orthogonal Persistance with versioning and reversability implemented in 
Windows ;)



Chris

*Although I'd love an athlon 64 and love lots of persistant ram more, it 
might be actually be bad thing.  Will people bother with the memory 
footprint of their apps anymore?  Sure some algorithms which have large 
space demands might be feasible and desirable, but I fear many will just 
  factor out memory as a concern and gobble as much of it as they can.