Re: [ntfsd] Is it worth it to support transactions?

The fact that they exist and are supported means that you need to handle them. If past history is any guide, then Microsoft will bend over backwards to support applications that use 'legacy’ APIs for decades to come; and certainly this is what their principal customers expect. Soon we may even be rid of 16 bit support and NTVDM!

Having said all of this, if you are not planning mass market distribution, you may be able to get away without this support

Sent from Surface Pro

From: xxxxx@lenovo.com
Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎August‎ ‎21‎, ‎2014 ‎10‎:‎22‎ ‎AM
To: Windows File Systems Devs Interest List

Hi,

I’m writing a file activity monitor using a mini filter. I’ve taken a good hard look at the change and delete sample drivers from Microsoft, and those examples devote a lot of code to dealing with transactions. I’ve read that Microsoft is discouraging new designs from using Transactional NTFS. My project is targeted at Windows 8 or later and might not ship until Threshold is released. Is it still worth the effort to support transactions in a mini filter driver? What would the side effects be from ignoring transactions?

As a matter of quality of design, I’d prefer to support transactions since the Microsoft examples still do. But I have found it hard to devise any test procedures. Does anyone know of a utility to create some transactions? Ideally I’d like to cause a few rollbacks as well as commits. I even had trouble finding sample code to make my own utility. Thanks for any advice.

  • Joaquin Luna

NTFSD is sponsored by OSR

OSR is hiring!! Info at http://www.osr.com/careers

For our schedule of debugging and file system seminars visit:
http://www.osr.com/seminars

To unsubscribe, visit the List Server section of OSR Online at http://www.osronline.com/page.cfm?name=ListServer

I think you missed my point. NTVDM is an example of a technology that Microsoft continued to support for many versions of Windows after it should really have been obsolete. The appear to have dropped support for it on x64 only because it would have to have been rewritten and even though they went to extraordinary efforts to maintain compatibility eventually it was cut. The same is probably going to be true of KM transactions. They will probably only be cut when a change of similar scope happens to Windows.

Sent from Surface Pro

From: Maxim S. Shatskih
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎August‎ ‎22‎, ‎2014 ‎4‎:‎19‎ ‎AM
To: Windows File Systems Devs Interest List

Soon we may even be rid of 16 bit support and NTVDM!

Already so in all x64 versions.

And, for x86 versions, DosBox is by far better than NTVDM these days.


Maxim S. Shatskih
Microsoft MVP on File System And Storage
xxxxx@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com


NTFSD is sponsored by OSR

OSR is hiring!! Info at http://www.osr.com/careers

For our schedule of debugging and file system seminars visit:
http://www.osr.com/seminars

To unsubscribe, visit the List Server section of OSR Online at http://www.osronline.com/page.cfm?name=ListServer