Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:34:06 +0100 | From | Enrico Weigelt <> | Subject | Re: linux kernel without file system |
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* Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk> wrote:
Hi,
> > Is there a way to access devices that does not require a file-system ? > > No: but you can run with just your own programs and bits needed loaded > off an initial ramdisk or a romfs image.
Well, it (IMHO) depends on what you call a filesystem. If you're talking about something that stores files (= byte streams with some assigned name) on some medium, you *could* come around this (in theory, no idea if it really makes sense): put everything you need into one big static executable, let the bootloader load it before the kernel is started (just like initrd ?) and hack up the kernel to get that damn thing started.
BUT: it you're talking about the VFS stuff - it's a fundamental building block of the OS, required in many many places (from socket operations to kernel runtime config, ...) - if you *really* want an OS w/o VFS, you better look at certain embedded-specific OS'es ;-P
BTW: I'd really like to see much more things handled through the filesystem (eg. networking API through some /net filesystem, like on Plan9 ;-p) and let the dozens of syscalls, nelink socket, etc, etc die out.
cu -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Enrico Weigelt == metux IT service - http://www.metux.de/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Please visit the OpenSource QM Taskforce: http://wiki.metux.de/public/OpenSource_QM_Taskforce Patches / Fixes for a lot dozens of packages in dozens of versions: http://patches.metux.de/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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