linux-kernel - Replacing VFAT as filesystem on removeable media

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Message-Id: <200903311015.29222.Martin@Lichtvoll.de>
Date:	Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:15:28 +0200
From:	Martin Steigerwald <Martin@...htvoll.de>
To:	linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org
Cc:	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, info@....org, office@...europe.org,
	info@...uxfoundation.org
Subject: Replacing VFAT as filesystem on removeable media

Hi!

Now as TomTom appears to have surrendered to Microsoft and Microsoft seems 
to have accepted this deal probably in order to not find out that their 
patents are void, I think replacing VFAT as standard cross platform 
filesystem on removeable media would be an even better idea than before 
[1].

Granted I believe the patents will be made void one day, but even then I 
think it would make sense to replace VFAT for technical reasons.

Such a filesystem IMHO should have the following features:
- cross platform with implementations for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X at 
least, also the varios BSD variantes come to my mind
- open source
- probably some support for flash media without or with bad wear leveling
- some kind of journaling or other metadata consistency guarentee 

People use ext2 as an alternative, but that lacks journaling.

I could also think of UDF with write support, but I am not sure whether 
Windows and Mac OS X has write support.

Or probably even a new filesystem as long as people appear to write one 
filesystem after another these days.

Or some kind of FAT *without* compatibility hacks, but I think this would 
still be an inferior solution as long as it doesn't provide for metadata 
consistency.

Maybe this could become some kind of Linux Foundation or FSF joint effort? 
Together with advertising and advocacy of free software users this could 
probably really replace VFAT in the long term.

What do you think? What other features would make sense to for such a 
filesystem.

I am willing to test such a filesystem and help with documentation as well 
as advocacy. But for coding I better start with something easier ;-).

[1] 
http://www.h-online.com/open/TomTom-Microsoft-settle-patent-dispute--/news/112964

Ciao,
-- 
Martin 'Helios' Steigerwald - http://www.Lichtvoll.de
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