Messages in this thread | | | Date | Tue, 14 Jan 2003 11:48:58 +0000 (GMT) | From | Tigran Aivazian <> | Subject | Re: [PATCH] don't create regular files in devfs (fwd) |
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On Tue, 14 Jan 2003, Christoph Hellwig wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 14, 2003 at 09:34:52AM +0000, Tigran Aivazian wrote: > > Hi Christoph, > > > > I don't know about mtrr (probably does it for the same reason) but the > > reason why microcode driver uses a regular file is because it needs > > something that only regular files can provide --- the file size. > > > > This is an easy external "signifier" as to whether a successfull microcode > > update has occurred or not. > > It seems to work without that feature on systems that don't have devfs..
Of course it works without it. I never said it is a required feature, only a very nice to have. Namely:
a) if devfs is available it provides a regular file whose size can be examined by applications and content read/written without much "fuss". In particular it is very convenient to say "vi microcode" and examine the content directly. If it was a device node then this would have been impossible.
b) if devfs is not available then a limited basic functionality is provided --- i.e. just update the microcode on CPU(s) and write the log messages in the kernel log.
Btw, having a size of mtrr is also useful for a similar reason.
Regards Tigran
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