Re: [Bug-ddrescue] Suggestions to rename "logfile"

[Florian Sedivy]

Hello Antonio!

I know I am quite late to the party, as there already is a release candidate 
with "blockfile", but would still like to give my input. 

My proposition is "mapfile" to replace "logfile" 
Alternatively "blockmap"

You responded to this before:
>> Robert Trevellyan wrote:
>> > mapfile
>> > rescuemap
>> 
> Antonio Diaz Diaz answered:
> The problem with these is that 'map' is only mentioned in the ddrescue 
> documentation in relation with the '--test-mode', while 'block' is mentioned 
> in about all places related to the logfile.

But that is exactly the reason why I would not use "blockfile". Everything in 
ddrescue is about blocks. It reads from block-devices in portions of 
soft-blocks and hard-blocks, it uses blocks as unit, and so on. Just about 
every input or output file in ddrescue could be coined as a "blockfile". No 
wonder "block" appears all over the documentation. If you are looking to 
replace the word "log", the better choice is a new word, one not already 
present in so many other contexts. 

What is the logfile? It is a map of blocks. (You even phrased it yourself that 
way in the --test-mode description.) It is not a list of blocks, because it 
does not list single blocks or some blocks. A "loose" logfile might be 
considered a list of block-ranges, but a well defined logfile "lists" all 
blocks and defines a status (think "color") for them, thereby painting a map of 
blocks. The defining part here is "map", while "blocks" is redundant in the 
world of ddrescue - what else? Therefore I'd slightly prefer "mapfile" to 
"blockmap". 


On the topic of making the logfile (or blockfile/mapfile/blockmap) mandatory
> Antonio Diaz Diaz wrote:
> As I read somewhere, "build a system that even a fool can use, and only a 
> fool will want to use it".


I am absolutely with you on not creating it automatically. I thought about this 
for some time and found too many pitfalls. 

But I am with Adrien and Felix for making it mandatory. This is the one most 
common error, and it is easy to prevent. 
I propose to allow a single "-" as 3rd parameter to operate without a logfile. 
That way the experienced user has only minimal inconvenience when making 
logless runs. 

Best Regards,
Florian