RE: PUBLIC CHALLENGE: (was RE: devfs again, (was RE: USB device a

Shawn Leas (SLEAS@videoupdate.com)
Fri, 8 Oct 1999 15:04:43 -0500


From: Stephen Frost [mailto:sfrost@mail.snowman.net]
Subject: RE: PUBLIC CHALLENGE: (was RE: devfs again, (was RE: USB device
a lloc ation) )

> 'special' files are files that have special attributes, not that go
>away when the power goes off.

I guess the point here is that we are all arguing over semantics.

>> No it didn't. It lets drivers decide, and you can chown/chmod/ln etc to
your
>> heart's content, but persistence was handled by tar which worked
beautifully
>> via a standard FILESYSTEM INTERFACE.
> No, it was a hack. The permissions were not stored w/ the file.
They
>were not stored on even the same filesystem that the file was.

Although I was wrong, I get the feeling Richard did/does it this
way because the VFS isn't suited to what he wanted and would add
a layer to node creation, as apposed to simply having implicit
files, so-to-speak.

>> implying
>> the current devfs would be bad to have in the kernel. Cite your reasons.
> We've just been going over my reasons.

And I think they're bullshit, and they're NOT reasons
to exclude the devfs, they are only reasons for you
to not use it.

>> I was talking about extensions for devfsd, where, I SHOULD have said
"when
>> devfsd gets awoken by a devfs namespace change, devfsd could..."
> Why does devfs have to be mounted then? Sounds like it could do
what
>it wants without being mounted and trying to play like a filesystem, when
it
>actually isn't one..

Well, except that you have to create some different class of special
file or still raise the dev_t bar a little, and that's not permenent.

-Shawn

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