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SubjectRe: PROPOSAL: /proc/dev
On Mon, 5 Jan 1998, Pavel Machek wrote:

> Hi!
>
> > > - I think this is totally wrong for programs or people that check in /dev
> > > for a device before try to open it, or at least is a mess.
> > WHAT!!! The whole point of a virtual devfs is that you can do a "ls /dev"
> > to see what devices are currently accessable. And most actions on a divice
> > start with a call to open() (or mount()).
>
> Ok. You have device 'foobar' which you can load module for. It is not
> loaded, now. Which means /dev/foobar entry is not there. Now, some
> broken app goes and looks if /dev/foobar exists. If it does not, it
> will bail out, instead of opening it (which would cause /dev/foobar to
> be loaded.)

OK, so if the app just does a readdir (or such), then it won't show up.
That could, potentialy, I guess, break some apps (shell scripts, I'm
guessing, would be most likely). But, if it, for example, stats the file,
then the module would be loaded. Possible overkill, but better safe then
sorry. I'm thinking that any operation that gives a specific filename
(well, stat, open, mount, access, unix domain socket functions, not chown,
not chmod, not chdir, flock, fstat, not mkdir, not mknod (obviously), mmap,
not old* (not supported at all), readlink (though I don't think anything
will do a readlink w/o stating first), not rmdir, select, truncate... is
there anything that should be on this list, but isn't? (BTW - Some of
these, the VFS handles interily... I don't know wether or not these will do
the kerneld thing.))

> Do *NOT* buy software, GNU software is and free! Pavel
Is and free?

-=- James Mastros
--
Agent K: Humans for the most part don't have a clue. They don't need one
or want one either. They're happy. They think they have a good read on
things.
Will Smith (not yet Agent J): But why the big secret? People are smart;
they can handle it.
K: A person is smart; people are dumb, panicky animals and you know it.
Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was the center
of the Universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth
was flat. Fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone in the
Universe. Just think what you'll know tomorrow.

-=- Men In Black (1997, Paramount)


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