The problem is that adding structure to the default data means specialized APIs to access them. This is why a generic, object oriented data store would be very

The problem is that adding structure to the default data means specialized APIs to access them. This is why a generic, object oriented data store would be very complex to maintain. While fundamentally necessary, files are not the answer to everything. There are designs such as file attributes to cater for file metadata. I suggest reading on ReiserFS ideas. Filesystems have to be there though. They are complex and have done a good job at hiding the complexity such that people like the original poster may even start to think they're unnecessary.