Directories or Libraries ?

[Thomas Sippel - Dau]

"Thomas Bushnell, BSG" wrote:
> 
> Thomas Sippel - Dau <t.sippel-dau@ic.ac.uk> writes:
> 
> >        The conceptual difference between a directory and a library
> >        escapes me, essentially, libraries are more efficient to read
> >        than directories, and more difficult to write, which makes them have
> >        more homogeneous contents. In fact, the ar processor for libraries
> >        was also used as a convenient way to pack directory hierarchies
> >        into a single object.
> 
> The difference between libraries and directories is huge.  I suppose
> if you disregard the differences, then they look the same.

Quite.
 
> For example, you list directories with the "ls" command; you list
> libraries with the "ar" command.  Need I describe more differences?

These are technical differences. I asked about conceptual ones.
Both are the data structures of a kind of "database manager", allowing
to retrieve information by means of an abstracted description (or "key")
which does not change as the data itself changes. The access methods 
are different, so what ? It is a different database management systems,
so of course the access methods are different.

For more insight, look at www.namesys.com and click on "future vision"

                                Thomas

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