Writing a user mode filesystem for windows?

Question

Is it possible to write a filesystem for Windows in pure usermode, or more specifically purely in managed code? I am thinking of something very similar to GMAILFS. Excluding

Answer 1

Sure, you can abstract the regular file operations and have them running in the cloud (see Google Apps, Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure etc.). But if you'd like to talk to local devices - including the local HD - you'll have to use system APIs and those use drivers (system/kernel mode).

As long as all you want is a storage service -no problem. If you want a real OS, you'll need to talk to real hardware and that means drivers.