The iMAX-432 object filing system

Abstract

iMAX is the operating system for Intel's iAPX-432 computer system. The iAPX-4321 is an object-oriented multiprocessor architecture that supports capability-based addressing. The object filing system is that part of iMAX that implements a permanent reliable object store. In this paper we describe the key elements of the iMAX object filing system design. We first contrast the concept of an object filing system with that of a conventional file system. We then describe the iMAX design paying particular attention to five problems that other object filing designs have either solved inadequately or failed to address. Finally, we discuss an effect of object filing on the programming semantics of Ada.