[X-Unix] What's in an MP3's resource fork..?

Fri Apr 23 06:27:02 PDT 2004

>Resource forks are not transparent to the user, 

I guess they just aren't because not many think of them and work with them
and had them explained well.

I remember when I first started learning about networks. The concept of
ports for a long time was incomprehensible to me: "Well, I got the IP
number, so what do I need that port number for? I know the machine. That's
enough, right?"

Most everybody on this list and definitely Eugene is gonna smile over this
as for them and now for me ports have become second nature of who we are.
(Well, something like that. (c:)

But I find the similarities to files and resource forks quite similar:

A file without a resource fork is like a server that has no different port
addresses.

Sure you can still setup different server processes on that machine, but
every connection being made has to be sorted out exactly what server process
it asks for. So for huge servers with lots of client-server applications
going on it might just be better to run dedicated machines: One server
process per machine.

Same with a file: Say you have something that requires all kinds of
different data ... text, sound, images, code. You can put all that into one
file and work with it. But oh what a pain to find what you need in that
stream of data. So you end up creating hundreds of files and you can address
whatever item you need individually ... although they really only make sense
if you keep them together.

For servers the solution is ports: I got the IP, and what I need is an SSH
connection, so #22, could you please stand up? No problem having thousands
of different type connections running at the same time on one machine.

For files the solution is "resources" or call it "file ports" if you will: I
got the file name, now I need that "squeek" sound, so ID 3441, could you
please stand up? No problem having thousands of individual items within one
file.

Another way I like to think of resource forks is like each file as a
mini-database. Databases structure and group things together that belong
together. It's not good to put each cell, each field into a separate file,
although that would be technically possible. It's not even common anymore to
put each record or table into a separate file. No, everything is grouped in
tables and then there are even groups of tables related with each other.

Sure, I could put each and everything in separate files. Early databases did
the same. I don't know how old the concept of ports is, but maybe in the
early days of networking there was indeed just one dedicated server to
connect to.

So to bring my point to an end: If people find resources "not transparent",
then they might just not be used to it. People today still have problems
understanding ports and (relational) databases. But are they a good thing?
Yes. Yes, until somebody will think of something better.

I think it's just the course of history that makes "file ports" (aka
"resource forks") not transparent.

If engineers had thought of relational databases, object oriented
programming, and some other breakthrough paradigms before ... where would
the public understanding of computing be today? 

Some group of programmers decided that the name of the file should define
the type of data. These programmers are to blame that it is now second
nature to people that a suffix indicates the data type. Now that should be
confusing and not transparent for users! But it's not, just because they're
used to it. Funny. 

Had the programmers decided that each file should start with a text portion
of meta data, then nobody in their wildest dream would think that a name and
a data type have anything to do with each other like size and data type have
nothing to do with each other. Everybody would find it natural that to
communicate data type to the OS they would have to change the text prefix in
the file. If the OS would reference files by numbers and the name of the
file were just part of that text portion, then users would grasp meta data
even clearer and each OS could handle files as it wishes.

But yes, we're not yet there. And we'll just have to live that some things
will stay like they are for a long time because they have already been like
this for a long time.

It's actually easier for users who don't care about "transparent" or not in
terms of a mental concept. If the app is just one file then that is
super-transparent for my parents. "Hey, it's your browser, there it is." Now
if they see a collection of files for what should just be "a browser" (read
that as "one browser") that is so non-transparent to them.

Uh, ah, looking for a cool one-liner to finish this up. Cannot think of one.
Too bad. (c:

Bjorn

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