[no subject]

[KEN@MIT-AI]

From:     HENRY@MIT-AI
Date: Tue, 17 May 78 19:59:31 GMT
Original-Date: 05/17/78 15:59:31 EDT
Subject: Re:  lock for dumped Lisp systems
    To: HIC at MIT-AI
    There might be a problem with people 
    remembering to edit the lock file in the
    manner you propose. Here's an alternative.

    Keep a file with the names of files dumped
    with the flush feature. It could also contain
    the UNAMES of their maintainers. A simple
    program run each time a new Lisp was dumped
    could do the following. It could mail reminders
    to maintainers to redump systems in the new Lisp.
    After a while, a GC program could run around checking
    (STATUS LISPVERSION) in each of the files, and
    if all existing systems were updated, the copy
    would be deleted.
------------
Your ideas regarding the handling of the LISP system are reasonable; but I want
to keep the mechanism down to a low level of complexity for all parties
involved.  I don't want to have to have hairy hacks, and I want
to be able to find the cases of lossage fast.  Therefore, I think the
single user-maintained file is the best scheme.  BTW, even if a lISP does
go away it is a simple matter to restore it from backup tape, so there really
isn't that much lossage if the system maintainer forgets.....

--Howard