This ensures that only the minimal state required is stored (as opposed to the entire process heap), and also that state can be reconstructed intelligently to preserve sharing and special resources. For instance, file descriptors (if running in Unix mode) could be reified to a filename/offset and reopened, and memory mapped areas (such as the shared ring structures that Xen uses) could be re-granted from the hypervisor.

You could build a Camlistore-like service on top of Irmin, but this design/eval hasn't happened yet to my knowledge. It's on the TODO list for Irmin applications -- while I really like Camlistore, I do also want finer control over routing of blobs in a content-addressed network to manage the physical placement of my personal data.

Another interesting aspect of Irmin is that the backend blob stores are also just another functor. In addition to the existing memory/HTTP-REST/Git backends, we've sketched out the design for a convergent-encrypted backend store as well. Other backends such as existing k/v stores like LevelDB or Arakoon shouldn't be difficult, and patches are welcome.