omullarney@cs.tcd.ie (omullarney@csvax1.cs.tcd.ie) (08/19/88)
We are two people of average intelligence. We both have Macintoshes. We like to write programs for our Macintoshes which use files other than those in the root directory. In our innocence we thought that the Macintosh HFS would suit our needs admirably. We were wrong :-(. Now, we are men of the world: We have seen the seamier side of life - (Real/Virtual mode switching the 80x86 from ADA, WordStar, 'C' ... I trust we do not need to draw pictures). HFS, however, takes the biscuit! Is there anybody out in NetLand who has the remotest breeze about how to use the HFS? All we want to do is set the current working directory, and have this recognised by the Finder when we return to the desktop. This appears to be impossible. Other operating systems let you do it (MS-DOS, UNIX, VMS). Oh, we've got close - one small problem: the Finder kindly opens a few windows that were shut before :-( - apparently the folders on the path leading to the folder from which an application was last launched (not always, mind you, that *could* make sense). Between us we have had *IOVrefNums* and *IOWDVRefNums* up to bl**dy here! The Inside Mac Documentation on HFS seems to be devoted to the various kludges that were used to make HFS have the 'look and feel' of MFS (and possibly also the Dewie system for library classification). Can someone explain (in *English*) how to do under HFS the common things one takes for granted with file systems: setting current directories, running programs, moving things, etc. All help accepted. We're not proud. :-) A final thought: Were Apple afraid of litigation from Microsoft if they deveoped a decent filing system for the Mac? ;-) Frank and Oliver - TCD. Disclaimer: We like Macintoshes, actually. And Apple. But sometimes ... Note: TCD knows less than we do about HFS, so they must be our opinions.