Module-file format (DRAFT)

[Alan Bateman]

Mark Reinhold wrote:
> Here's a first cut at a simple module-file format.
>   
The format seem straight-forward. One thing that isn't completely clear 
(to me anyway) is how does one recognize the end of a section that 
contains several named files? In the following, for example, how do I 
know distinguish a new section header from another SectionFileHeader?

SectionHeader
  type = NATIVE_LIBS
SectionFileHeader
  usize = 50k, name = libfoo.so
[libfoo.so]
SectionSize
  usize = 70k, name = libbar.so
[libbar.so]
SectionHeader
  type = CLASSES
:

I agree with Alex's comment that u4 might not be sufficient for the 
compressed or uncompressed size.

Is the intention that a module can be launched/started before it is 
fully transferred/"installed" and so lend itself to placement 
optimizations to improve first-time startup? If so, I wonder if the end 
of the entire file is the right place for the secure hash. I realize 
signing is an open issue I assume that the streaming means that the 
signature verification would be required per section to allow classes or 
resources to be loaded before transfer has completed.

-Alan.