> From: Tim Rowledge [mailto:tim at sumeru.stanford.edu]
> Time to redo it all... separate the name from the stream, add some more
> capable prims, clean it up.

I think the key here is the more capable primitives.  Most modern OSs can
tell you whether a file exists.  Some can even tell you whether you can read
it or not (Windows NT, sadly, does not appear to be one of them --- there's
a separate COM component to tell you).  The question is, as always, whether
the effort required to maintain N different implementations of the primitive
is worth the gain.  In this case, I'd argue that it is... but I don't
maintain a VM :-).

> System going down at 1:45 for disk crashing.

(Chuckle).  Next time you see Ian Piumarta, ask him about the number of
disks mushroom went through at the University --- and what happens when you
do a 23-hour coding stint and lose the disk!

		- Peter