Elf M. Sternberg
d13a76f08a
This just removes the layer between `prepare_pattern` and `prepare_pattern_raw`; the function now always returns the allocated vector. Oddly, it wasn't possible to encode this using an Option<> in the `hunt()` function. The `usize` of the scan variable meant that we'd never go below zero legally (and Rust wouldn't let that happen), so the "if we're at zero we have some special cases to check" had to remain here. The C version of this code could say "If this pointer is below the allocated space" which is, to a Rust developer, hella weird (you're literally pointed at memory you don't own!). And despite the allocation, despite the special case checks, this code is *still* twice as fast as its C implementation. |
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README.md
rlocate
locate is an unix utility for finding files by filename. It runs a
scheduled task that updates a simple database file with the list of
every file in the system, and provides a tool for querying that
database.
locate was first released in 1994, accompanying the release of BSD 4.4
Unix. mlocate is a more modern implementation that improves
performance in the scanner by copying the contents of a folder that
hasn't changed since the last scan (although it still has to recurse
down that folder's subfolders).
rlocate seeks to update these two, and provide better functionality
going forward.
Features
Right now, none of this works. The intended feature list is:
- Can read the following locatedb formats:
- MLOCATE
- Provides new locatedb formats:
- RLOCR01: Directory path prefixes are built by reference, making for a much smaller database.
- RLOCR02: RLOCR01, but compressed.
- Dynamic, real-time monitoring of local (not networked) filesystems,
with real-time updating. (Currently Linux only; Requires
located-serverfeature flag.) - A library for accessing the RLocate database or the RLocate server.
- A C FFI for that library.
Installation
rlocate is a replacement for mlocate, which is part of the
findutils package, and you do not want to damage that. After
building, install the client, and updater or server (depending on which
you built) into the folder of your choice. If you're using the timed
updater, edit your cron table to run it, removing the mlocate entry. If
you're using the server, you can run it and it should just work. It
may take some time to build an initial database file, however.
Motivation
I can't remember the project that started this. All I recall was that at one time I was very disappointed to learn that there was no way of scanning the mlocate.db file from a library; the only way to access it was to run a process pipe from inside your C or Rust program. The mlocate.db file has a unique group as is readable only by members of that group; it's also owned by root and can only be updated if the updatedb program is run by root.
I wanted something that was both better and had fewer security requirements. This is the result of that project.
It also let me get back into writing Rust, something I haven't done in awhile.
LICENSE
rlocate is Copyright Elf M. Sternberg
(c) 2019, and licensed with the Mozilla Public License vers. 2.0. A
copy of the license file is included in the root folder.