lkml.org 
[lkml]   [2001]   [May]   [19]   [last100]   RSS Feed
Views: [wrap][no wrap]   [headers]  [forward] 
 
Messages in this thread
/
Date
From
SubjectRe: [RFD w/info-PATCH] device arguments from lookup, partion code
Alan Cox writes:
> > ioctls are evil, period. At least with these names you can use normal
> > scripting and don't need any special tools. Every ioctl means a binary
> > that has no business to exist.
>
> That is not IMHO a rational argument. It isn't my fault that your
> shell does not support ioctls usefully. If you used perl as your
> login shell you would have no problem there.

There is another reason to use ioctl(2): when you need to send data to
the kernel/driver and wait for a response. It supports transactions,
which read(2) and write(2) cannot. Therefore it remains useful.

Al, if you really want to kill ioctl(2), then perhaps you should
implement a transaction(2) syscall. Something like:
int transaction (int fd, void *rbuf, size_t rlen,
void *wbuf, size_t wlen);

Of course, there wouldn't be any practical gain, since we already have
ioctl(2). Any gain would be aesthetic.

Regards,

Richard....
Permanent: rgooch@atnf.csiro.au
Current: rgooch@ras.ucalgary.ca
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/

\
 
 \ /
  Last update: 2005-03-22 12:53    [W:0.179 / U:0.608 seconds]
©2003-2020 Jasper Spaans|hosted at Digital Ocean and TransIP|Read the blog|Advertise on this site