Re: PROPOSAL: /proc/dev

[James Mastros]

On 1 Jan 1998, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> >
> >   Hi, all. My recent work on the /proc/mtrr interface has gotten me
> > thinking about an old discussion: configuring /dev entries. Instead of
> > complicated schemes for determining what devices are available and
> > automagically creating /dev entries, how about creating entries in
> > /proc/dev instead?
> > 
> 
> Not again...
> 
> 	-hpa
Why not?  If you could give us some good reasons why not then we probably
will drop it.  But several times, I have heard this come up, and never a
good reason why it shouldn't be done.  The two reasons that I have heard are:
1)  Memory usage -- so if you can't spare the memory, don't use it!
2)  Lack of user configurablity (IE different permissions, different names)
    -- so we have callbacks through a userspace daemon.  Or we let people
    write really simple kernelspace modules.  (Basicly a big select and a
    function call or three with constant arguments for each case.)
    
    	-=- James Mastros

> -- 
>     PGP: 2047/2A960705 BA 03 D3 2C 14 A8 A8 BD  1E DF FE 69 EE 35 BD 74
>     See http://www.zytor.com/~hpa/ for web page and full PGP public key
>         I am Bahá'í -- ask me about it or see http://www.bahai.org/
>    "To love another person is to see the face of God." -- Les Misérables
> 

-- 
Information as a base of power is coming to an end.  In the way the world
works tomorrow, the power to *do* *something* *with* *information* is what
will matter. 

	-=- James Mastros, rephrasing Nugget (David McNett, distributed.net 
	    Big Man)