Re: devfs - why not ?

Marek Habersack (grendel@vip.net.pl)
Thu, 13 Apr 2000 14:58:32 +0200


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** On Apr 13, Horst von Brand scribbled:
> Ricky Beam <jfbeam@bluetopia.net> said:
>=20
> [...]
>=20
> > If you wanted to be a purist, modules need a new function for reporting
> > devfs information... init_module, delete_module(?), devfs_module? That
> > certainly fixes one problem (and kills the need for devfsd.)
>=20
> No. How do you load a module for /dev/foo117, when /dev/foo117 doesn't
> currently exist? The kernel shouldn't have to know about each and every
That could be easily resolved by depmod. The modules can (in that situation
would _have_ to) use the MODULE_SUPPORTED_DEVICE doc string. That would
state what device(s) they are bound to. Depmod extracts that info and stores
it in /lib/modules/<kver>/device.map. Modinfo then just uses that map to
load appropriate device. Modules without the __module_device in the .modinfo
section wouldn't fit into this scheme, but the symbol can be made mandatory.

> device that might some day show up as a driver module (even third-party,
> binary-only compiled after the kernel proper perhaps). This mandates some
> userland involvement, with some configuration file that tells the daemon
None, provided the above is implemented and enforced. OTOH, loading module
involves userland anyway... - modprobe _is_ userland after all.

marek

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