I have a folder I would like to create a read only alias of to prevent tools from modifying the original contents in any way. The original should be kept in "pristine" condition so subsequent or parallel runs of tools cannot modify contents in any way. No updating existing files, creating new files (e.g. logs), or deleting files.
i.e. I have D:\data. I would have D:\dataRO1 which is an alias of D:\data, but any modifications would be prohibited. The actual folder structure is D:\data\typeA, D:\data\typeB, and D:\dataRO1\temp which is the one folder exception for which full permission could be allowed to.
I don't see a problem of creating multiple aliases (e.g. D:\dataRO1\typeA to alias D:\data\typeA, same for type B and C) and creating a real D:\dataRO1\temp as there are only a few folders in the "root". I do see a problem of creating hundreds of thousands of read only links by walking the tree.
Is it possible on Windows to create a read only "mount" or alias of an existing folder?