[no subject]

[Robert W. Kerns <RWK at SCH-GODZILLA>]

    BUG-ZWEI at MIT-OZ, Moon at SCRC-TENEX
In-reply-to: <DROGERS.12008036285.BABYL@MIT-OZ>
Message-ID: <840416183930.6.RWK@GODZILLA.SCH.Symbolics>

    Date: Mon 16 Apr 84 19:38:10-EST
    From: David Rogers <DRogers@MIT-OZ>
    Date: Mon, 16 Apr 1984  19:33 EST
    From: DROGERS@MIT-OZ
    Sounds like all alternatives are bad. For reference, they are:

    1. Have a list of fields that it has to copy on every machine.
       Then, some machines will always spit out errors (ie TOPS-20)

    2. Have a list of fields to copy for each machine type. This has
       been called an incredible kludge; better to have the user
       get unneeded error messages.

    3. Have a special "copy all fields you can" command, that each
       host interprets correctly. This transfers the kludge out of
       the lisp machine and into the host FILE program.
This is what m-X Copy File is, without giving it an argument.
It has the additional feature of telling you what fields it
cannot copy out of the usual set.

    I vote for whatever kludge protects the user from brain damaged
    unneeded error messages. And I don't buy the argument that
    it is not the responsibility of the lisp machine to protect
    the user from brain damage, either its own or that of damaged
    hosts.

I don't think anything needs to be changed, except to make the
message indicate that the file WAS copied correctly.