Re: Testers wanted: exorcised kmod.c: no more daemon!

Mike Bristow (michaelb@mojo.org)
Tue, 14 Apr 1998 07:01:03 +0100

On Mon, Apr 13, 1998 at 10:32:41PM -0700, Kirk Petersen wrote:
> I like the idea of removing the auto unloading code, since it is
> something that can certainly be done in user space. An argument *could*
> be made that not all systems have cron. But I've been thinking, how
> necessary is automatic unloading? I can't think of any good example
> where *auto* unloading is necessary.

If you use modules to have an apparently ``full'' featured
kernel in minimum memory, you only want floppy.o to be
loaded and taking up valuable RAM when actually using the floppy
drive.

As you want users to be able to use the floppy drive, and
you don't trust 'em to run you perfectly formed suid wrapper
around rmmod when they've finished using it, autounload is
usefull.

How common that is _now_ I don't know; certainly when I first ran
a modularized kernel I had 8MB and it was because kerneld could get
swapped out but the floppy driver couldn't.

-- 
It's 0700 and I'm incoherant.  Sorry.


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