Re: Request: Test suite for EFS.

[Daniel Veillard <Daniel Veillard w3 org>]

On Sun, Feb 20, 2000 at 01:11:16AM +0000, Tom Gilbert wrote:
> * Norman Stevens (norman@arcady.u-net.com) wrote:
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Sat, 19 Feb 2000 u07ih@abdn.ac.uk wrote:
> > 
> > > > Why don't we just store compound documents as directories? The files
> > > > in this directory would be the individual components of this document.
> > > > If they themselves were compound documents they would, of course, be
> > > > subdirectories rather than files. 
> > > 
> > > This is what efs does, execpt it's only one file.
> > > 
> > Why _must_ it be one file?
> 
> Because IMO users do not want their work stored as directories. In a
> corporate environment where documents are exchanged, commonly by
> internal email, people want to send files around,

  Everybody uses Mime-Multipart, as far as I know it *is* multipart.
BTW everybody seems to consider OK to base64 stuff when sending
an e-mail ...
  Especially in that case, send a mail with a base64 encoded attachement
containing an EFS file and check who can grasp it ... Nobody right now.
at least if you split things you *do* get the mime type of the various
omponents. allowing your mail agent to handle those in an intelligent
fashion.
  The packaging problem has been a loooonnng debate in other circles
like ISO/IETF, even W3C. Make the content of your package easilly readable
or your packaging format will die faster than you design it.

> copy them and share
> them in the manner they are accustomed.

  I.e. sharing network directories where compounts are not a problem
or web where it is not a problem either or floppies where directories
can be an acceptable solution.

> To a user, this internal stuff should be transparent. If he doesn't

  yes.

> need the ability to poke around in there, why force him to cope with
> the consequences?

  Because even more importantly, programs need to poke around too.i
An a big blurb of binary encoding will make sense to very few of those.

Daniel

-- 
Daniel.Veillard@w3.org | W3C, INRIA Rhone-Alpes  | Today's Bookmarks :
Tel: +33 476 615 257  | 655, avenue de l'Europe | Linux XML libxml WWW
Fax: +33 476 615 207  | 38330 Montbonnot FRANCE | Gnome rpm2html rpmfind
 http://www.w3.org/People/all#veillard%40w3.org  | RPM badminton Kaffe