Zack's Kernel News

Status Of SquashFS

Phillip Lougher is submitting SquashFS for inclusion in the main kernel tree again. The last SquashFS submission was in 2005, and he's made significant progress since then, including two major revisions and a nearly complete rewrite of all kernel-based code. Among other changes, the filesystem is now 64-bit, supporting fantasmagorically large files, and it presents the traditional '.' and '..' directories in directory listings.

With alternatives like CramFS already in existence, Phillip's earlier attempt to submit his code met with resistance, partly on the grounds that we don't really need more than one compressed filesystem. This time, Phillip had prepared a number of counters to that argument. In filesystem size, file size, block size, and various other measures, SquashFS dramatically exceeds CramFS's capabilities. And as Phillip pointed out, CramFS is currently listed as orphaned, while SquashFS is actively maintained.

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