Does a filesystem exist that allows for the creation of custom file attributes?

[notfred]

It seems that there is such a thing for BeOS, but I need something that will run on windows or Linux. What I want to be able to do is have metadata associated with each file in the filesystem, so that in addition to having things like "permissions", "read-only", or "owner", I could also have "version number" or "author" or anything else I wanted.

Any suggestions?

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: notfred
It seems that there is such a thing for BeOS, but I need something that will run on windows or Linux. What I want to be able to do is have metadata associated with each file in the filesystem, so that in addition to having things like "permissions", "read-only", or "owner", I could also have "version number" or "author" or anything else I wanted.

Any suggestions?

Excuse me, this is the Doom3/HL2/WoW forum, I think you're in the wrong place...

 

[AFB]

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: notfred
It seems that there is such a thing for BeOS, but I need something that will run on windows or Linux. What I want to be able to do is have metadata associated with each file in the filesystem, so that in addition to having things like "permissions", "read-only", or "owner", I could also have "version number" or "author" or anything else I wanted.

Any suggestions?

Excuse me, this is the Doom3/HL2/WoW forum, I think you're in the wrong place...

Hahahaahahahahahaha.

 

[Kilrsat]

NTFS Alternate Data Streams can be used to somewhat do what you want. An Alternate Data Stream is one way the Properties->Summary dialog gets its information.

Alternate Data Streams were designed to function like the resource forks in HFS to maintain extra information about the file.

 

[Czar]

use something called sourcesafe from microsoft, might work for what you need, not a file system though

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: notfred
It seems that there is such a thing for BeOS, but I need something that will run on windows or Linux. What I want to be able to do is have metadata associated with each file in the filesystem, so that in addition to having things like "permissions", "read-only", or "owner", I could also have "version number" or "author" or anything else I wanted.

Any suggestions?

Interestingly enough, I started work on exactly that concept back in '96. It really is a truely necessary feature for any sort of advanced data-store - an object-oriented filesystem, with infinitely-extensible user-specified metadata attributes. I came up with some ideas for self-similarity and typing, along with hyperlinking, and the ability to specify both "strong" and "weak" links. Basically, it turns the filesystem into a semantically-typed hyperfractal, and allows transfer of data between systems in a way that (at least minimally) retains context, instead of stripping it away, like the act of "downloading" does in current "dumb" filesystems.

Sadly, it's still mostly just a design at this point.

So in terms of a practical implementation of a design like that, I guess you'll have to look into RieserFS4, or wait for WinFS. Either that, or get me $10Mil, a team of programmers, and a time machine, and I'll have it ready for you by next week. 😛

 

[Nothinman]

You can use extended attributes on Linux, I've only messed with them on XFS but supposedly they work on other filesytems as well.