lkml.org 
[lkml]   [1999]   [Jan]   [9]   [last100]   RSS Feed
Views: [wrap][no wrap]   [headers]  [forward] 
 
Messages in this thread
/
Date
From
Subject/proc file philosophy (was: Re: Results: 2.2.0-pre5 vs arcavm10 vs arcavm9 vs arcavm7)
Zlatko Calusic schrieb:
> > > 3) Nitpick #1: /proc/swapstats exist but is only filled with
> > > zeros. Probably it should go away. I believe Stephen added it
> > > recently, but only part of his patch got actually applied.
> ... I have a similar, even more
> verbose patch for MM statistics with ~15 columns of information ...

I worry about the free-format nature of /proc files sometimes.
What happens if someone needs to change the format? Programs
that read /proc probably use fragile ad-hoc parsers that break
easily if the format they're reading changes.

One of these days, it might be wise to switch to a uniform
keyword/value metaformat for all /proc files.
I could imagine switching to XML for /proc in kernel 2.5 :-)
That way, new elements could be added to /proc formats
with less worry about breaking parsers. Since every field
would then have a name, documentation might be more robust, too...
- Dan
--
Speaking only for myself, not for my employer

-
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/

\
 
 \ /
  Last update: 2005-03-22 13:49    [W:2.032 / U:0.696 seconds]
©2003-2020 Jasper Spaans|hosted at Digital Ocean and TransIP|Read the blog|Advertise on this site