Re: [coldsync-hackers] removable media support

["David A. Desrosiers" <hacker@gnu-designs.com>]

> I'm curious if there is any development in coldsync to handle installing
> files directly to removable media?

	You mean VFS support? Quickly perusing the code, it does not appear
so, however, with the Sony devices, you can mount the MemoryStick in the
Palm device as a USB Storage Device, and just copy files to it like you
would a normal drive.

> Similar to in windows' Install Tool, allowing to choose the Destination
> whether it be 'Handheld' or 'Memory Stick' (in my case:)

	You'd need to change the core API to the Coldsync codebase to be in
line with the current 4.0 and 4.1 SDK from Palm, Inc. to provide full
facilities for VFS support. We have to change it in pilot-link as well for
the same reasons.

> If not, I could probably hack it together, but im curious if anyone else
> is working on this type of a feature..

	I say give it a go, I'd love to see how you approach the problem.

	It's been on the plans for us as well on the pilot-link codebase for
over a year, but I was a bit put-off last year when I asked the VFS team at
Palmsource, and they said that we can't put VFS into Open Source "hands". I
mentioned that POSE was using a pseudo VFS implementation, and POSE was
under the GPL, so we could just borrow that code instead. They weren't too
happy with that "circumvention" idea. I suspect that now Palm is a software
company, not software-and-hardware, they might be even more resistant to the
idea.

	Remember, Coldsync and pilot-link and JPilot and Evolution all sync
with the Palm devices, and all are currently directly in their path as
competition for their software dominance of the Palm handheld space.

	Adding VFS support will happen though, but the ARM platform may
change all that, since the OS5 API is much different than the OS4 API, with
regard to "proper" code; i.e. null pointers, file descriptors, a "real"
filesystem, etc.




/d



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