GEOS SDK TechDocs
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1 Design Philosophy
Every operating system needs a way to interact with files. Files are used to hold both data and executable code. They are also the simplest way of transferring data from one computer to another.
GEOS provides powerful file-management functionality. It runs on top of a disk-operating system, and uses that DOS to read files from different media. Applications which run under GEOS need only interact with the GEOS file-management system; they are insulated from the differences between versions of DOS. They are also insulated from the differences between various file-storage media: CD-ROM drives, network file servers, and floppy and hard disks all present the same interface.
The GEOS file system provides functionality that many versions of DOS do not have. It allows the use of virtual directories, so (for example) the system's FONT directory could actually comprise several physical directories. GEOS files have functionality which DOS files lack. For example, GEOS provides support for file-sharing and data-access synchronization across networks. Nevertheless, GEOS lets applications access standard DOS files and directories when desired.
You may not need to use much of the file system directly. The document control and file-selector objects can let the user select and open files transparently to the application. Many applications will never need to negotiate the directory structure.
1 Design Philosophy
2 File System Overview
3 Disks and Drives
3.1 Accessing Drives
3.2 Accessing Disks
4 Directories and Paths
4.1 Standard Paths
4.2 Current Path and Directory Stack
4.3 Creating and Deleting Directories
5 Files
5.1 DOS Files and GEOS Files
5.2 Files and File Handles
5.3 GEOS Extended Attributes
5.4 File Utilities
5.5 FileEnum()
5.6 Bytewise File Operations
GEOS SDK TechDocs
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| 1 Design Philosophy