[Gnu-arch-users] "virtual" archives in arch

[Mirian Crzig Lennox]

In perusing the archive*.[ch] and pfs*.[ch] code in libarch, I've
noticed that access to archives is done through a lovely object
oriented interface, with implementation-specific details abstracted
behind vtable structures.  This seems to have been done primarily to
support different file-transfer mechanisms (ftp, sftp, dav, etc.), but
I wonder how difficult it would be to extend the metaphor to include
archives other than the "standard" Arch layout.

My idea is to create a virtual archive which speaks "pserver" protocol
to a remote CVS server, but supports the interface defined by
arch_archive_vtable in libarch/archive.h.  It would map the CVS
semantics understood by the remote pserver to the Arch semantics used
by tla, using heuristics such as are employed by cvsps and/or cscvs to
fill in the cracks.

It wouldn't be a perfect job of course, due to the limitations of CVS,
but if it could be done properly, it would really reduce the pain of
being an Arch user in a CVS world.

I'm curious whether Tom and others think this would be a worthwhile
goal; and if so, whether the vtable framework would support doing what
I have describes.

yours truly,
Suffering in CVS Land