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michal_k's avatar
michal_k
Explorer | Level 4
8 years ago

What exactly is namespace

Hello,

 

I read this documentation and I did not understand, what exactly is meant by "namespace" which is being locked. The documentation sais this:

 

"You can think of a namespace as a collection of files and folders in the internal representation of the Dropbox file system. Each user’s private Dropbox folder maps to a root namespace."

 

Does it mean that every private (aka not shared) folder has it own namespace and this namespaces are in hierarchy?

 

Example:

In Dropbox root I have following structure of private folders:

 

root
|-- Folder_1
| |-- Folder_1a
| +-- Folder_1b
| |-- Folder_1b1
| +-- Folder_1b2
+-- Folder_2
|-- Folder_2a
|-- Folder_2b
+-- Folder_2c

I want to upload file to Folder_1b. What is the exact namespace, that will be locked? Which folders belong to the locked namespace and to which folder can I upload files via API in parralel so the namespace lock contention will not occur?

  • 'Does it mean that every private (aka not shared) folder has it own namespace and this namespaces are in hierarchy?"

     

    No, a folder doesn't represent a new namespace unless it's a shared folder or team folder.

     

    In your example, assuming none of those folders are shared, everything is part of the same namespace.

  • Steve M.'s avatar
    Steve M.
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    'Does it mean that every private (aka not shared) folder has it own namespace and this namespaces are in hierarchy?"

     

    No, a folder doesn't represent a new namespace unless it's a shared folder or team folder.

     

    In your example, assuming none of those folders are shared, everything is part of the same namespace.

    • Greg-DB's avatar
      Greg-DB
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      If Folder_1 is a shared folder, then Folder_1 is a namespace, separate from the root namespace.

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