Charlie writes:
> Wouldn't it be a good idea for the backup software vendors to default to
>  storing the POSIX file structure using your MPE/iX filesets.  You could of
>  course, turn this feature off if you wish but only geeks with pocket
>  protectors would be interested in doing that.
>
> What's your opinion, I'd like to know.

to which Stan responds:
> Yes, I agree.  Before jumbo datasets were released, I suggested (to
> all backup product engineers) that if they ever see a root file in
> a backup list (no matter how the list was specified), that they should
> default to thinking "oh, the user probably wants the entire database
> backed up" ... and that they should add a keyword like "NODB" (or
> something) to *defeat* that default.

Oooh...that's a tough one.

In your example, it seems you're trying to think for the user. Trying to
implement "store what I mean" instead of "store what I say" is a bit
tricky, to say the least.

What do you think of a "helping" keyword, instead of a "trust me" keyword?
In this example, we could use something like "WholeDB" or "CompleteDB".
This would preserve the existing behaviour (if I ask for MYDB, then that
single file is all I'll get) while "helping" the user get the whole
database when needed.

--Glenn Cole
  Software al dente, Inc.
  [log in to unmask]