<HEAD><TITLE>discuss@charon: [131] in "Coldmud discussion meeting"</TITLE>
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<HR><H2>The naming issue</H2>
<H3>daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Thu Dec 23 13:47:42 1993
)</H3>
<PRE>
From: ghudson@MIT.EDU
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 93 12:59:22 EST
To: coldstuff@MIT.EDU


I have come to two conclusions:

* At least a first-order solution can be achieved by providing a
facility in the server to convert strings (names) to dbrefs,
controlled by the system object.  Although the server namespace is
then flat, we can then experiment with different naming structures
(hierarchies, for instance) in the db.  Certain things (e.g. symbolic
links between 'directories,' if we're going to model a filesystem,
just as an example) can't be easily done this way, but that's okay.

* The reverse-resolution problem is easy: simply keep track of a
'primary name' on each object.

* If I have both symbolic dbrefs and names, it's going to confuse the
hell out of people.

This means that I have to convert from symbolic to numeric dbrefs
before 1.0.  (Or eliminate the idea of dbrefs entirely, but that's too
radical.)  And, of course, I need to provide the naming facility,
although the in-db support can wait until after 1.0.

I may have to slip on the Dec. 31 release date to do this, but I think
leaving the Great Object Naming Issue unaddressed before the first
general release is a mistake.

--GBH

</PRE>
