On Fri, 16 Jun 2000, Erez Zadok wrote:
> On a related note, since we do have /proc/mounts, and assuming that procfs
> is pretty much necessary nowadays, are we going to get rid of /etc/mtab and
> completely move all getmntent info into the kernel? I never liked the fact
> that people doing mounts (such as automounters) have to ensure that they
> correctly maintain a separate text file in /etc.
I'm not sure that we need to keep it on procfs - especially with the
union-mounts coming into the game.
> If we want to go crazy, we can implement mntfs ala Solaris 8, which moved
> the mnt info into the kernel, but allowed for "editing" /etc/mnttab which is
> now a special f/s mounted on top of a single file.
I'ld rather not do it. I know that I'm biased, but Sun seems to be
seriously bound on turning their system into a tasteless pile of kludges.
I wouldn't trust SunSoft to design a loo cover - it would weight a ton,
come with HTML manual, require a complex system of levers to raise and
have a nasty habit of coming down _hard_ in the most inconvenient moments.
Sorry - still bitter over their switch from SunOS 4 to Slowlartus...
> Hmmm, maybe that's a question to the glibc folks. I guess as long as all
> the necessary tools and libraries will use /proc/mounts if available, and
> avoid using /etc/mtab, that'd be ok.
How many programs actually need this getmntent(), in the first
place?
