Re: Linux ACL designe - why the POSIX draft?

From: Albert D. Cahalan (acahalan@cs.uml.edu)
Date: Sun Nov 18 2001 - 20:50:28 EST


Nicholas Miell writes:

> With all the recent discussion about ACLs and Linux on
> linux-kernel, I was wondering why the ACL implementations
> for Linux are based off the withdrawn POSIX 1003.1e draft
> 17?

As a group, we are short-sighted herd followers.

> Is there any particular reason why this was chosen for
> the basis for the Linux ACL system, besides the fact
> that its what everybody else did? (It is a only a
> withdrawn draft after all, there's no reason to actually
> follow it...)
>
> Wouldn't a more flexible solution, perhaps one based on
> the NFSv4 ACL design[1] be better?

Of course it would be better, but then we'd all argue over
the details. (compatibility, API, user interface...)

> Because the NFSv4 design is in effect a superset of the
> POSIX 1003.1e draft functionality, all Unix filesystems
> with ACLs could be easily supported by the Linux VFS, and
> the task of implementing NFSv4, NTFS, and SMB would be
> made easier[2] because of it.

Sure. Problem is, few have seen NFSv4 ACLs. There is also a
prejudice against anything that even remotely resembles NT,
never minding if it is better or is what businesses want.
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