Re: file as a directory

[prymitive <prymitive@go2.pl>]

Dnia Mon, 29 Nov 2004 18:20:35 -0300, Horst von Brand <vonbrand@inf.
utfsm.cl> napisa³:

> Now think about files with other formats, for instance the (in)
famous
> sendmail.cf, or less structured stuff like you find in /etc/init.
d/, or
> just Postgres databases (with fun stuff like permissions on 
records and
> fields)... or just people groping in /etc/passwd wanting to find 
the  
> whole
> entry (not just one field), or perhaps look at the 15th character 
of the
> entry for John Doe.
>
> This way lies utter madness (what format description should be 
applied to
> what file this time around?). Plus shove all this garbage into the 
 
> kernel?!

First time I was reading about /etc/passwd and stuff it was really 
directory as file, imagine You have a directory "/etc/passwd/" and 
inside files like "root", "john" and so, if You acces this directory 
by typing "cat /etc/passwd/" You would get list of files inside, but 
when You type "cat /etc/passwd" You get contest of all files inside 
this directory listed like one big file, the security bonus is that 
all files in /etc/passwd/ can have diffrent permissions, that was my 
firts impression of /etc/passwd hype and I think it would be quite 
good, putting *.tar, *.bz2, *.xml, *.whatever parsers in kernel is 
simply not.

£ukasz Mierzwa