> Does glibc have a configure test so that its value of MAXSYMLINKS
> matches the experimentally determined limit in the kernel? What if
> someone upgrades the kernel independently (very common)? How
> important is it for glibc's limit to match the kernel's limit?
I'm in a constant fight with the kernel people to get functions to
query these constants. sysctl() could be used to do this but nobody
cared to finish the implementation to cover al the interesting
constants.
If you want to see this changed go to the kernel people and tell them
that recompiling with different constants etc *is* a problem. They
are not beliveing me (or even listen to me).
> The linux kernel and glibc are both immediately modified to raise the
> symlink chase limit from 5 to a much more reasonable number. I
> recommend 128, but the limit used by SunOS and AIX, 20, is better than
> doing nothing. This is easy and safe and cheap.
128 is *way* to much. This limit 5 is not there to limit the
usability of the system or a requirement of the algorithms. It's a
way to catch wrong system configurations. You could go without a
limit if you would have a loop detection system which could work in
constant space (the kernel pre-thread space, the stack, is limited to
about 7k) then it is not a problem. But setting a simple limit is
easier and even 5 should not be too low.
-- ---------------. drepper at gnu.org ,-. 1325 Chesapeake Terrace Ulrich Drepper \ ,-------------------' \ Sunnyvale, CA 94089 USA Cygnus Solutions `--' drepper at cygnus.com `------------------------- 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/