Windows 7 and WinFS


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I remember back in the "Longhorn" days when WinFS was still supposed to be released alongside the OS. Then MS decided to drop the new filesystem from the release. I haven't heard much about NTFS' replacement since. Is WinFS something that is still in development, and if so, is it coming with Windows 7?

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It wasn't an NTFS replacement, it was another layer that tracked metadata for files. It's been smooshed into other products I think. The concept was interesting but I think one of the MS bloggers said it had too many performance issues.

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Nope, it's dead and buried with no chance of return, period. Some of the underlying technology did make it's way into SQL Server I beleive though?

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Who ever said that they were working on an NTFS replacement?

WinFS was basically a big-ass database designed to abstract away the concept of files. It would never have replaced NTFS, as it was not a filesystem.

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Who ever said that they were working on an NTFS replacement?

WinFS was basically a big-ass database designed to abstract away the concept of files. It would never have replaced NTFS, as it was not a filesystem.

cannot stress this enough... WinFS is NOT a file system

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Who ever said that they were working on an NTFS replacement?

WinFS was basically a big-ass database designed to abstract away the concept of files. It would never have replaced NTFS, as it was not a filesystem.

QFT

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cannot stress this enough... WinFS is NOT a file system

I'm SURE part of the confusion was the fact that "FS" appears in the name "WinFS" and FS, usually means "File System."

I think it was a great idea, whether it was implemented as a new filesystem, or a filesystem extension, I don't really care, but I'd love to do SQL-like queries on my filesystem for whatever, like finding dupe files and stuff like that.

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SQL queries would be awesome, but I'm not sure it would last as it would be more of a power users dream. Besides, we're so used to babying the FS, I bet even power users would take a while to warm up to it...

I hate when people makes threads about a technology they in NO WAY understand.

I hate when people respond to a thread without posting relevant information... :rolleyes:

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You know I was really excited about this technology when Microsoft was hyping it and showing all those fansy demos, but in hine sight, I have to say, I can't think of a single practical application putting a users files in a giant database would provide. If anyone knows, please enlighten me.

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I hate when people respond to a thread without posting relevant information... :rolleyes:

I don't fault ArtOfTheWire for this because there have been many people who have posted their gripes about Vista not having WinFS and that they want it in Windows 7 (See the Windows 7 Feature Request thread) when they clearly have no idea what they're talking about. After pointing out what it really is, multiple times, people still post things like in the OP.

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SQL queries would be awesome, but I'm not sure it would last as it would be more of a power users dream. Besides, we're so used to babying the FS, I bet even power users would take a while to warm up to it...

You can perform SQL queries against the Windows Search index: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcen...p/wdsearch.mspx

Edited by MioTheGreat
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I wouldn't be so quick to have a go at him for mentioning it was a file system...at the very beginning of the project, WinFS was a file system set to replace NTFS. Not for long, but it was. It then saw several changes to become the additional layer for NTFS that everyone knows, and then scrapped as a single feature and split into different projects.

His information might be outdated, but still, you lot aren't any better...

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See: Just about any pre-2004 report?

Official MS documentation if you really want me to: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa480687.aspx

Though there's a brief mention of it being a subsystem at the top of this page, it was probably simply updated - throughout the article it is clearly said that it's a new file system.

specifically the revolutionary new file system code-named "WinFS."
Microsoft has invested heavily in building the next generation of the Windows file system, code-named WinFS. The WinFS product team follows three core tenets in reinventing the Windows file system
Without built-in schemas, WinFS would be no better than the existing file system

Think that's enough. (Y)

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Perhaps. The diagram on that page shows it sitting on top of NTFS though, and there's no mention at all of it replacing anything. I think they were just calling it "file system" as it would be a part of the next version of NTFS, not replacing it.

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Perhaps. The diagram on that page shows it sitting on top of NTFS though, and there's no mention at all of it replacing anything. I think they were just calling it "file system" as it would be a part of the next version of NTFS, not replacing it.

Regardless, my point still stands that you shouldn't act know-it-all on him over calling it a file system. The very fact that Microsoft itself called it a file system is enough proof for that. The line between both was very much blurred through misleading communications on their end, and you can hardly argue against that statement.

Oh and whatever, want some more sources? Sit down and look at these news articles if official documentation isn't enough for you...

In Longhorn, Microsoft plans to introduce a new file system with enhanced storage capabilities. Known as Windows Future Storage (WinFS), the new means for storing, accessing or indexing files will replace NTFS and FAT32, the predecessors used by Windows XP.

http://news.cnet.com/2100-1012-990912.html?tag=fd_lede1_hed

My suspicion is that Microsoft is working slowly toward the inclusion in Longhorn of WinFS (Windows Future Storage), the new file system that's based on SQL Server "Yukon" technology.

http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/longhorn_4008.asp

The dilemma has prompted Microsoft to take action with its next Windows generation. The Windows Future Storage (Win FS) file system will take its place in Longhorn, the successor to XP. For the first time, a server technology will manage data on home PCs via a relational database.

http://www.driverheaven.net/news/18336-win...er-smarter.html linking back to a Tom's hardware article which seems to be gone.

WinFS is, in effect, a file system created from a stripped-down version of Yukon.

http://www.itjungle.com/two/two042804-story02.html

And I could still go on :)

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The existing indexer is perfectly capable of loading plugins that do that. You don't need WinFS for it.

"plugins" are not really what i'm looking for, though, WinFS promised metadata standardization. Which is arguably the only metadata that's practically useful.

e.g. Vista still won't even read id3v2.4 tags. :rolleyes:

Even something as clusterf*cked as iTunes will read them.

It can't be that hard to read UTF-8 encoded text.

Edited by shakey_snake
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WinFS was billed as one of the pillars of the "Longhorn" wave of technologies, and would ship as part of the next version of Windows. It was subsequently decided that WinFS would ship after the release of Windows Vista, but those plans were shelved in June 2006, with some of its component technologies being integrated into upcoming releases of ADO.NET and Microsoft SQL Server.[3] While it was then assumed by observers that WinFS was finished as a project, in November 2006 Steve Ballmer announced that WinFS was still in development, though it was not clear how the technology was to be delivered.[4] As of July 2008[update] it is thought that parts of the WinFS project have been integrated into the Midori project.
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