System for providing extended file attributes

摘要

A system for providing extended file attributes (330) is described. Logically, attributes are supported as files within the file system. In this way, the file system is augmented with an orthogonal namespace of file attributes (330). According, any file (including attribute files) may have an arbitrarily deep attribute tree (302) associated with it. Access to the attribute values is via file descriptors obtained via a special attribute interface. This logical view of "attributes as files" allows the leveraging of existing file system interface functionality to support the construction, deletion, and manipulation of attributes.