ADRE@gec-m.rutherford.ac.UK (Tony Anderdson) (12/22/87)
Merry Christmas Anyone,
It would make my Christmas if someone could give an answer to
the query below which I sent a few days ago.
Can anyone tell me the variable that the current directory
listing is kept on, if there is such a variable.
I've noticed that the first time you ask for a directory listing
of a newly selected directory that it accesses the disk. However on
subsequent directory calls to the same directory it seems not to. For
instance you can remove the floppy disc and still get a directory
listing ! So I assume the listing is kept on some mysterious variable
deep in the depths of Interlisp. Is this assumption correct ?
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year from
everyone here in England.
Tony Anderson
Admiralty Research Establishment
Portland
Dorset
UKSCHMIDT@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU (Christopher Schmidt) (12/23/87)
Can anyone tell me the variable that the current directory
listing is kept on, if there is such a variable.
I've noticed that the first time you ask for a directory listing
of a newly selected directory that it accesses the disk. However on
subsequent directory calls to the same directory it seems not to. For
instance you can remove the floppy disc and still get a directory
listing ! So I assume the listing is kept on some mysterious variable
deep in the depths of Interlisp. Is this assumption correct ?
For each device there is an FDEV data structure on \FILEDEVICES. Each
device has a (potentially) different method of caching directory listings,
if caching is done at all. Since the data structures are ad hoc and not
guaranteed to remain the same across releases, you would be ill advised
to access them directly.
If you wish to maintain your own cache of a directory's contents you can use
Interlisp's (DIRECTORY '{DSK} '(COLLECT)) or Common Lisp's (DIRECTORY "{DSK}")
--Christopher
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