[haiku-development] Re: mkfs utility for haiku
- From: Stephan Assmus <superstippi@xxxxxx>
- To: haiku-development@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 17:37:35 +0200
Gabriele Biffi wrote:
> Stephan Assmus wrote:
> > Marco Minutoli wrote:
> >> On Wed, 07 May 2008 12:32:57 +0200
> >> Gabriele Biffi <mlist@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Uh, if we want to be truly KISS, a generic mkfs is too complex :)
> >>>
> >>> There's already mkbfs, mkiso, etc. what's the need for a generic
> >>> tool? To make user's life simple. A quick wipe is a simple work and
> >>> adds that little security that's always welcome.
> >> As far as I know there isn't a working mkbfs already and that's why we
> >> are here talking about mkfs :). I, as a user, expect that a CLT does
> >> just one thing(initialize a volume in this case no matter of the kind
> >> of volume). Now the point is: is wiping data part of the
> >> initialization process from a user point of view?
> >>
> >> I think no but that's only my cent. I will follow the decision of the
> >> majority.
> >
> > I also think no. But I understand Gabriele looks at this from a point
> > of "protecting the user from him- or herself". A simple warning message
> > could do.
>
> More precisely, I believe that a user will think that the data is
> actually destroyed and nobody can retrieve it when he sells his old
> computer.
Our point all along is that this problem can be fixed by alerting the user
of what exactly happens and what to expect with regard to the data being
still on the drive, right when he/she initializes a partition. The full
erase should simply not be the default action since it takes such an insane
amount of time. Selling your old computer is simply not the only situation
in which you want to format a drive/partition. Actually, it is the least
common situation I can imagine, but pretty much the only one that requires
a full erase. I do hear your concern, but I believe there are ways to
accomodate the concern besides making the full erase the automatic default
action. Your assumption about the users assumption that the data is gone,
is ignoring a lot of situations in which to format a drive/partition. For
example, if I have a new external hard drive, which I need to format with
BFS (without being aware of the option to "quick format", assuming that
full erase is the default) all that I am going to see is that formatting
with BFS under Haiku takes _forever_. In this particular case (and a lot of
others) for no reason at all, but only to save me from doing something
stupid in a completely unrelated situation (selling my old drive, getting
rid of confidential/private data).
Best regards,
-Stephan
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