[ros-dev] Security policy for FAT partition driver?

[Boaz Harrosh]

Many people wrote:
1. NTFS is hard/impossible to implement. Undocumented and therefor 
can/should not be used with ReactOS.
2. ext2/ex3 not good enough for the Windows-NT API, for security, 
streams, and other support.

I would like to please refute both!

1. NTFS is already fully supported in ReactOS! By Microsoft. As shown by 
the Captive project. (You did merge back the Captive project Cache 
manager and file system stuff right?) If ReactOS is to support WinNT 
device drivers than that means, File-System device drivers as well. 
Native Knoppix has Captive by default and you can ask my friends of how 
happy they are for the stuff I saved them from a Bad and crushed XP HD.
OK so it is not Implemented yet, but it is 85% and it could be if 
someone wants to merge Captive subsystems.

2. I have not been to Wineconf-2005, but from the summery what I could 
see is that one of the key notes was the Samba team. Now ReactOS is 
going to use Samba right? Or are you going to do your own 
Windows-for-Workgroups Implementation? Well Samba4 has all these things 
missing from ext2/ext3, implemented on top, has an extra layer. They 
call it VNTFS. By use of Samba you will get that for free. Wine is going 
to use samba to replicate all the needed Win32 API(s).
Now in order for ReactOS to use Samba it will need it's POSIX layer 
pretty polished up.

In summery what I think should be is: A new installation, out of the 
box, installs ext3 with the Samba VNTFS layers and every thing is happy 
and free. A user that wants to dual boot or Replace but not loose 
his/her Windows NTFS HD, will be prompt for the Windows system 
directory, the NTFS drivers, which are legally his (Hence the existence 
of the NTFS partition), are copied and happily used by ReactOS. ReactOS 
does not Create new NTFS partitions but other wise supports them to the 
letter, by running MS drivers and utilities. It must do that to be true 
to its goal, as stated on the front page: Run any Windows application 
and any Windows-NT device driver. Including those from MS, as legally 
owned by the user. For any other free use of ReactOS the native FS is 
ext2/3 with Samba VNTFS extensions.

As somewhat of an outsider lurking in the shadows I can tell you guys 
one thing. ReactOS as a little bit of tendency to the: “Not invented 
here”. I think that would not compete well with MS's eat all you can, 
extend and conquer.

Free Life
Boaz