I need help with file management

[sentient06]

Argh, I didn't even consider this. The MacOS / OS X transition was such a mess...

I know! I was surprised. I didn't use Mac OS 9 for long as back on the day I needed a PC for my studies, so I also missed the Mac OS X transition (I went from an 8.6 user to a 10.4), so I had no idea bundles were a thing on Mac OS 9. My concern when I created a CodeWarrior project was to create a 68k binary and a PPC binary, maybe, and I assumed that would be the end result. Now I realise it's a Carbon support setting for Mac OS X. To generate 68k code I probably need to add a new target or something. That's a problem I will try to figure out later.

I think in a relative path, you can have :: to represent the parent directory. : represents the current directory. It's like .. and . in Unix. So you could maybe do ::abc to get the abc file in the parent directory or :::abc to get the abc file in the parent of the parent directory.

ioFDirIndex = 0 get info for the named item in the vref/dir. I suppose the parent directory id would be the same as the directory id.
ioFDirIndex = -1 ignores the name and gets info for the vref/dir (including parent directory id).

Nice, I'll have a play with that. Thanks.

Is there a flag that says whether your process (app) is a bundle/package instead of a standalone resource file? Perhaps in the Process Manager? Core Foundation framework? Carbon API?

So, I made a bit of digging, and I found a setting in the Target section of the project in which there's a dropdown that says "Application Package" and can be changed to "Application". I had to do that for both debug and final targets, and I had to restart CodeWarrior otherwise it misbehaves. (I deleted the packages manually, I don't know if that's necessary.)

Regarding working directory IDs, they are not a concatenation of vRef and DirID - that would require 48 bits! macOS maintains a list of working directory IDs somewhere. I think you can see the list in MacsBug? There's a limited number of working directory IDs (< 15 bits?) so there's a OpenWD and CloseWD function just like there are similar functions for opening and closing files (frefs are 16 bits) (you can definitely see the file list in MacsBug).

I believe they are. I said earlier they are conflated, but I think that's the wrong term for what I meant. Concatenated makes more sense. I will try MacsBug. Thanks. I'm not very familiar with it, but it looks like a good time to learn about it.

I didn't know that the WD number changed. That sounds horribly messy.

I need, in the future, to keep track of a few directories, and I've read somewhere that we do that by creating aliases. I have no idea how that works, but I imagine an alias will keep a reference to the directory in disc? As long as I can retrieve it, I think it will be safe even if it WD number changes.

 

[joevt]

Volume reference numbers and working directory reference numbers and file reference numbers can all change. They all depend on when they were opened.

32-bit Directory ID doesn't change. Similar to file inode numbers.
There's a 64 bit HFS Volume ID per partition which should be unique. I don't recall a simple API to get this.
Volume name can be changed by the user but it's better than nothing.

An alias stores a bunch of different info: path, directory ID, network share address, etc. An alias can be rather large. They might be overkill. Maybe just use a path or a volume name + directory ID. Add directory name if you want to notify the user when a directory name changes.

There's many interesting articles at eclecticlight.co. Use google to search for topics there with site:eclecticlight.co added to the search string.

Aliases and links: understanding their differences

Do you know the differences between an alias, hard link, and symbolic link? Each has its uses, and understanding them is important.

eclecticlight.co

How macOS tracks your files: inside the inode

Some apps track old documents wherever they go; others lose them if they are put in a different folder. Here’s why, and some new features for the next release of Precize.

eclecticlight.co

Finder Aliases and Bookmarks: a summary

Diagram summarising how Finder Aliases work, including their resolution. And how to confuse QuickLook thumbnails.

eclecticlight.co

APFS, safe saves, inodes and the volfs file system

How can you refer to an important file or directory, no matter where it’s moved on a volume, even when it’s renamed?

eclecticlight.co

Navigating boot volumes in paths and inodes

How inode numbers can give important insights into the structure of the conjoined System and Data volumes, and help you navigate them.

eclecticlight.co

A brief history of the Finder Alias

Introduced in System 7 in 1991, long before symbolic and hard links became available in Mac OS X, they’ve been revised and extended to bookmarks since.

eclecticlight.co

etc.