5 ms·
Feels comparable to how folders in file systems are there for the user to make sense of it, but technically they work in ways that easily break that mental mode
by makeitdouble 3y ago
Feels comparable to how folders in file systems are there for the user to make sense of it, but technically they work in ways that easily break that mental model.
- mbork_pl 3y agoThat's interesting, in what ways do directories break the mental model?
- Izkata 3y agoFolder, not directory. Try nesting these inside each other: https://www.amazon.com/Pendaflex-Folders-Classic-Positions-65213/dp/B0722L14L3/ https://www.amazon.com/Pendaflex-Folders-Classic-Positions-6...
- pests 3y agoI mean, maybe everyone here is so used to the word, but try nesting these inside each other: https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Address-Phone-Directory-Refills/dp/B074F2NKKX https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Address-Phone-Directory-Refil...
- YurgenJurgensen 3y agoSince directories are just references that tell you where a resource is located and don't actually contain the resource, that's not very difficult.
- pests 3y agoWe don't usually put directories inside other directories though.
- makeitdouble 3y agoFor "normal" people they represent a unique and finite set of files under a specific hierarchy. The technical implementation allows us to put the same files in as many folder as we want, folders recursing on themselves, "smart folders" that don't have any stable set of files, remotely synched folders etc.
- offices 3y agoThe hierarchy model means that they're not suitable for some uses that the technology could support. If I have a picture of my family member and my dog, I don't want to put them exclusively in a 'family member' folder or 'dog' folder. I ideally want a hard link in both, but that's not trivial. This sounds silly - people generally name their folders by event rather than like tags - but that's a consequence of the interface rather than an inherent quality of storage. In reaction to this & us rapidly having more personal media and files, we're now seeing a shift towards interfaces that treat the entire filesystem as a flat, searchable index - including indexing that recognises the family members and pets.
- jstanley 3y ago> I ideally want a hard link in both, but that's not trivial Yes it is. First put the file in one folder, and then make the hardlink in the other.
- offices 3y agoTrivial step 1: open Powershell with elevated permissions.
- jstanley 3y agoI just looked it up, and while you apparently do need evelated permissions to create a symlink on Windows (???), I think you don't need elevated permissions to make a hard link. So really your step 1 is "open PowerShell". So the only reason it's not "trivial" is because you don't happen to always have a terminal window open. Personally I do almost all of my file management from the shell.
- groestl 3y agoI think Folders are more an example where neither the technical implementation nor the mental model fit the real world particularly well (in the general case).
- emmet 3y agoThat's where a spatial file manager comes in!
- popularrecluse 3y agoIt's a Unix system! I know this!
- mbork_pl 3y agoClever girl!