As far as the volume labels are concerned, there are programs (DDR,
ICKDSF, etc.) that verify the label before destroying the disk, so the
label isn't all that onerous. It keeps from having to create a Windows
Registry to record identifying information. That central area where the
DEVDESC information that you ask for is stored is likely to become just
such an area. For example, we are in the process of upgrading our DASD.
We have thousands of disks that must be copied. Any shop that moves
things around for whatever reason is likely to have problems with the
DEFINE command changes you suggest. You cannot try to ease the pain of a
big move by having CP delete entries when a disk no longer exists
because is is possible that hardware failure could mimic the removal
process when seen from CP's vantage.
Regards,
Richard Schuh
________________________________
From: The IBM z/VM Operating System
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ivica Brodaric
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 9:33 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: How comments treated by DIRMAINT
I never meant this to be top of the list for IBM Development.
There are more pressing issues, of course. But it just annoys me that in
this day and age (yes, I'll use that phrase) all we have to describe a
minidisk using whatever we want to put in there is a minidisk label
(apart from address, of course). Not to mention other devices that don't
have that 6-character luxury. Sooo 1960's, which may be a good thing
(but so was Y2K, for my back pocket).
I mean, what does TCP191 tell you? Is it TCPIP or TCPMAINT? I
won't even go to TC0191. And how many times did we forget to change the
label after changing the minidisk address? Q MDISK was invented because
Q DISK couldn't tell you enough and was possibly telling you the wrong
thing. So why not give us a bit more that we can change *at the same
time* when we change something in the directory?
I don't care if that "comment" or "device name" is in the
directory or CP gets it from somewhere else (but where else?). Not
putting rubbish in those comments would be just a matter of common sense
which you can't rely on, but if one wants to put something stupid like a
URL of MP3 of disk spinning in that field, so what? The advantage of
being able to name a disk "CMS Apply Level n" to a newbie (and even to
me, considering a rate of my brain cell depletion) overweighs that. And
I can think of much worse ways of bloating the directory like not using
profiles where you can.
I would also like to see it added in CP DEFINE. Call it DEVDESC
or DEVNAME, or whatever.
One has to be careful though not to introduce an ambiguity in
design, so that applications and guest OSs of the future don't hijack it
for their own selfish purpose ("you can put anything in this field
unless you use XXX, in which case it has to be structured"). I'd hate to
see "/LINUX SWAPFILE MAKEONCE" or ";TCPIP MAILME WHEN DEAD" as device
description. But that could even be a feature, depending on your view.
We already have RSCS...
Again, this is not very important, but could open some new doors
in the future and make our VM a bit more modern and palatable to
newbies.
Ivica Brodaric
