PFS3 is soon to become free and opensource

[Karlos]

Not really. The filesystem is I/O bound anyway, so there is little benefit from porting it to PPC.

I've used PFS3 as my main filesystem on MorphOS for 10 years now.

I don't really see it as a performance issue but at the very least, making a platform-independent version written purely in C would be a good idea such that it can be used with AROS. In doing so you open the door for a PPC native version anyway.

[Golem!dk]

Yes it is. For me the biggest drawback is there is no DiskSalv available for it, which would have been handy a couple of times. Maybe now someone could develop one.

Didn't DiskSalv have some Ami-FileSafe support in the last version? And of course you do get PFSDoctor included with PFS3, not that I ever needed it here.

[wawrzon]

Not really. The filesystem is I/O bound anyway, so there is little benefit from porting it to PPC.

I've used PFS3 as my main filesystem on MorphOS for 10 years now.

exactly what i wanted to say, no need to port it to ppc.

[Karlos]

exactly what i wanted to say, no need to port it to ppc.

As I said, think not of the speed increase (if any) but the portability aspect.

[zipper]

Didn't DiskSalv have some Ami-FileSafe support in the last version?

AFAIR it worked just on the root level, not deeper in the directories.

[Golem!dk]

AFAIR it worked just on the root level, not deeper in the directories.

Ok, been a while since I looked at it, and of course with DiskSalv you're also stuck with <4GB disks.

[warpdesign]

Good news!

It's great to see some open-mind... What would happen if every developer was that opened... hmmm..

[warpdesign]

@Gulliver: what about building a list of software that has been released as free and/or open source ? Could be useful. You could also use that to convince more people to release their software...

[warpdesign]

Yes it is. For me the biggest drawback is there is no DiskSalv available for it, which would have been handy a couple of times. Maybe now someone could develop one.

Well... maybe it could be done if Dave released the sources of DiskSalv... Gulliver: ever thought about contacting Dave Haynie ?

[DaMi]

I don't have a benchmark result at hand, but i'm sure that it's much more than twice as fast. It's faster than SFS in some operations, at least. This is for 68k Amigas.

About a year ago I did some complex testing how efficient is the PFS3 on ide bus of amiga 1200 but with different turbocards. If you are interested here are details:

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=cs&ie=UTF-8&sl=cs&tl=en&u=http://www.amigaportal.cz/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D3965:porovnani-vykonu-pfs3-na-internim-ide-adii-amigy-1200%26catid%3D301:amigaos-3x%26Itemid%3D200273&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhiwo06PdkbA-jUX8z-bBGI4rJecAQ

The article is originaly in Czech language and it is translated via Google Translator. I gathered the data in DiskSpeed and analyzed in ms excel.

[Gulliver]

@Gulliver: what about building a list of software that has been released as free and/or open source ? Could be useful. You could also use that to convince more people to release their software...

Okay, so that you know who I contacted, and the results I got so far:

Tobias Abt - Picasso96 - Got a response, it was NO
Heinz Wrobel - Envoy3 - Got a response, it was NO
Chris Hames - PCTask - YES to binaries
Michiel Pelt - PFS3 - YES to binaries and source, but will have to wait till he solves some issues
Holger Kruze - Miami Deluxe - Awaiting answer. Still to early to declare unanswered
Thomas Frieden/Hyperion - Warp3D - No answer
Stefan Stuntz - MUI 3.8 - No answer
Stephen Fellner - RiVA - Yes, but doesnt have enough time to look into the matter and release it

[wawrzon]

Okay, so that you know who I contacted, and the results I got so far:

Tobias Abt - Picasso96 - Got a response, it was NO
Heinz Wrobel - Envoy3 - Got a response, it was NO
Chris Hames - PCTask - YES to binaries
Michiel Pelt - PFS3 - YES to binaries and source, but will have to wait till he solves some issues
Holger Kruze - Miami Deluxe - Awaiting answer. Still to early to declare unanswered
Thomas Frieden/Hyperion - Warp3D - No answer
Stefan Stuntz - MUI 3.8 - No answer
Stephen Fellner - RiVA - Yes, but doesnt have enough time to look into the matter and release it

i think you can unfortunatelly forget warp3d. we (actually matthey) havnt got any answer from hyperion as we were asking for sources alone to fix warp3d, so that it is practically usable, not to give it away. otherwie its licence states that it can be distributed for free.

in particular it says this:

Warp3D may be distributed  unmodified
and  free  of  charge  with  any project, commercial, freeware or
shareware. Warp3D may not be modified in any way and  distributed
in  its  modified  form  without  the prior written permission of
Hyperion Entertainment. The Warp3D API is copyrighted by Hyperion
Entertainment  and  its  authors  and  may  not be re-implemented
without the express written permission of Hyperion Entertainment.
Developers  can  make  use  of  Warp3D  in  their  commercial and
non-commercial projects free of charge.

i think similar applies to mui. i wasnt even able to register it. what a shame.

[chris]

i think you can unfortunatelly forget warp3d. we (actually matthey) havnt got any answer from hyperion as we were asking for sources alone to fix warp3d, so that it is practically usable, not to give it away. otherwie its licence states that it can be distributed for free.

Won't happen as it's part of OS4 these days. Same applies to Picasso96.

i think similar applies to mui. i wasnt even able to register it. what a shame.

I've no idea about registration of MUI, but development continues mostly as part of MorphOS AFAIK.

[wawrzon]

instead of asking to opensource mui, we should push forward zune on aros and help to debug its 68k port by bernd, distributed with the afaos.

edit: as for w3d i must admit i do not know its actual licence status. as far as i know the system was originally developed by haage and partner, so maybe it is again only licenced to hyperion along with a right to develop drivers since h&p is not in amiga buissness anymore, but could still remain the holder of ip. somone has any clue on that? otherwise we could put it down in the future in favour of gallium anyway.

[hardlink]

Well... maybe it could be done if Dave released the sources of DiskSalv... Gulliver: ever thought about contacting Dave Haynie ?

I approached Dave several years ago about taking a crack at maintaining DiskSalv, but he already had somebody lined up to do it. However, this was in his back yard during a HaynieFest, we were all drinking beer, his band was about to start playing, and I don't think it's a big priority for him now. I'm just glad I didn't have be the driver home that night, 2 states away

[Gulliver]

I got a progress report. Email follows. But before posting it, he mentions that he needs a working 100MB zip drive to recover some files. Does anybody have one to send him for free (he lives in Holland)?
_______________________________________________________________

From:
"Michiel Pelt"
Add sender to Contacts
To:
"Ignacio"
Hi Ignacio,

First thing is the binary release on aminet. You can expect that soon
enough. Source code release just needs some time. I do have the
sources. But you should realize PFS3 is a complex piece of software
and this includes the build. I cannot throw it in the public domain
just as it is, it has to be bundled in a nice package with clear
instructions.

To do that I first have to create a working build environment myself,
and I am not quite there yet. I have the sources. I have a licensed
copy of WinUAE. The compiler, SAS C, I had on original floppy disk,
but I downloaded it already (I do have a license).

I appreciate the help offered and I might need some. I am not sure
about the license to use. All I really want is credit whenever someone
uses any of it - that is I have to be mentioned and I want to be
informed about it.

Also, do you know someone in the possession of a working 100MB zip
drive? I have some pfs-formatted zip disks that may have some useful
stuff on it.

Best regards,

Michiel Pelt
_______________________________________________________________

So anyone has a zip drive to give away for free To Michiel?