Messages in this thread |  | | | Date | Sun, 10 Oct 1999 00:30:06 +1000 | | From | Nathan Hand <> | | Subject | Re: [linux-usb] Re: USB device allocation |
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On Fri, Oct 08, 1999 at 03:26:39PM -0400, Theodore Y. Ts'o wrote: > > If the user plugs in a USB modem, the user knows they plugged in a modem, > they run their getty/pppd/minicom on the new modem device. > > What's the difference between saying this and saying, "If the user plugs > in a USB modem, they know they have plugged in a modem, and they can > type the appropriate mknod command as root"? Why is it Too Hard and > Unfair to force a user to type a mknod command, but it's OK to force > them to edit /etc/ttys or /etc/ppp/options?
This paragraph sums up the crux of the argument, and eloquently says what hpa and alan said in the last devfs flamefest.
Devfs as a filesystem doesn't do enough. You still need a user space daemon to do more complex things. For example, plugging in a hotswap isdn card shouldn't just create /dev/ppp, it should also fire up the ifconfig and pppd processes. There are other (better) examples.
And once you admit you need a user space daemon, then you can accept that you don't *need* devfs as a filesystem. You can achieve most of devfs's functionality using a user space daemon. I particularly like your idea of select/poll on /proc/devices.
But keep in mind that updating /dev is likely to be only a tiny part of what this daemon would ultimately do. It could also start scripts to mount drives, configure ports, restore defaults, upload flashcode to devices, configure networks, notify userspace processes, etc.
Similarly to cardmgr/PCMCIA already.
-- Nathan Hand - Chirp Web Design - http://www.chirp.com.au/ - $e^{i\pi}+1 = 0$ Phone: +61 2 6230 1871 Fax: +61 2 6230 1515 E-mail: nathanh@chirp.com.au - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
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