Short: Merges DF0: and PC0: in a single device
Type: disk/misc
Uploader: MC6489@mclink.it (Nicola Salmoria)
Author: MC6489@mclink.it (Nicola Salmoria)

Thanks to the versatility of AmigaDOS, we are able to use many different
file systems on our disks. The most popular is of course CrossDOS (tm), but
many other file systems can be found in the PD.
Adding a new file system to the Amiga is simplicity itself: just copy a
file in L:, provide a suitable mountlist, and there you go.
This works flawlessy if every physical unit is accessed by a single file
system, but if multiple file systems share the same device, some problems
arise:

- You have to call the same unit with different names (e.g. DF0: and PC0:)
  depending of the kind of disk inserted.

- When you insert a PC disk, the Workbench shows a DF0:???? icon, and vice
  versa; this can be very annoying especially for owners of more than one
  drive.

- When a file system is busy (for example during a DiskCopy), the other file
  systems can still access the disk; this goes against the concept of
  "inhibiting" a device.


MultiFileSystem solves all of these problems. It isn't a file system in the
usual way: it is an interface to other file systems. When you mount it, you
tell it which file systems it should use; afterwards, when a disk is
inserted, MultiFileSystem will recognize it and pass the commands to the
appropriate file system. This means that with a single device name, for
example DF0:, you can access any conceivable file system!

You are not limited to floppy drives, of course: I successfully installed
MultiFileSystem over a 128Mb magnetooptical drive.