https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=280941
Bug ID: 280941
Summary: The reboot command considered harmful
Product: Base System
Version: Unspecified
Hardware: Any
OS: Any
Status: New
Severity: Affects Some People
Priority: ---
Component: bin
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
The `reboot' command violates the principle of least
astonishment: although named after the common and regular
operation, it is /not/ the recommended and graceful way to
reboot the machine. For example, it does not invoke
rc.shutdown(8). The Handbook therefore recommends
initiating a reboot[1] with `shutdown -r now', which is a
longer and less obvious command. Because of this, many
users (and especially those coming from Linux), have been
using `reboot' for years when they should have been using
`shutdown -r' instead.
To make the interface more logical and intuitive, I propose
that a breaking change be introduced that causes `reboot'
invoked without parameters to have an effect equivalent to
that of `shutdown -r now', and to provide the current
`reboot' behavior via `fastboot' and/or a new command-line
option, such as -f or --fast. With that change, the bare
`reboot' will do what its name suggests: a graceful reboot
of the system.
This dangerous `reboot' behavior was discussed on #freebsd
on the 23rd of July, 2024, where gentler ways to amend the
situation were proposed, including improving the
documentaion and displaying a warning or error message from
`reboot'.
____________________
1. https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/boot/#boot-shutdown
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