🚀 go-pugleaf

ath@prosys.se (Anders Thulin) writes:

>My impression of CD-ROM information business is that the currently
>used storage formats are more or less proprietary, and useful only
>with certain software. Is this correct?

No.  There are some formats that are proprietary: Apple's HFS is
one example.  I believe that there is a DOS format that is "proprietary"
as well.

>It seems that certain higher-level standards would be useful, for
>instance one that permitted CD-ROMs to be used as microfiche.

I fail to see how a standard for CD-ROM daata encoding would make a
CD readable by a microfiche reader.  :-)

>Are there any such higher-level (CD-ROM) standards under development?
>Any pointers appreciated.

Actually, there are at least two.  I think that there are three, but
the third also defines an OS as part of it.

The two that I know of are NISO and Hi Sierra.  Both describe the volume 
and directory structure, both describe the format for file names, and
what information is contained in file attributes.  Both are designed
for use on little endian and big endian systems.  Neither describes the 
format of data in files, although they both support dual fork files and
files of records (both fixed length and variable length).  I first worked
with these about three years ago, so I don't think that they are that new.
+C
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Cory Kempf				I do speak for the company (sometimes).
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