linux-kernel.vger.kernel.org archive mirror
 help / color / mirror / Atom feed
From: "Albert D. Cahalan" <acahalan@cs.uml.edu>
To: npsimons@fsmlabs.com
Cc: g.liakhovetski@ragingbull.com (Guennadi Liakhovetski),
	viro@math.psu.edu (Alexander Viro),
	linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: system call for process information?
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 16:05:13 -0500 (EST)	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <200103132105.f2DL5D8411265@saturn.cs.uml.edu> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20010312195647.A32437@fsmlabs.com> from "Nathan Paul Simons" at Mar 12, 2001 07:56:47 PM

Nathan Paul Simons writes:
> On Mon, Mar 12, 2001 at 09:21:37PM +0000, Guennadi Liakhovetski wrote:

>> CPU utilisation. Each new application has to calculate it (ps, top, qps,
>> kps, various sysmons, procmons, etc.). Wouldn't it be worth it having a
>> syscall for that? Wouldn't it be more optimal?
>
> 	No, it wouldn't be worth it because you're talking about 
> sacrificing simplicity and kernel speed in favor of functionality.
> This has been know to lead to "bloat-ware".  Every new syscall you

Bloat removal: being able to run without /proc mounted.

We don't have "kernel speed". We have kernel-mode screwing around
with text formatting.

> add takes just a little bit more time and space in the kernel, and
> when only a small number of programs will be using it, it's really 
> not worth it.  This time and space may not be large, but once you
> get _your_ syscall added, why can't everyone else get theirs added 
> as well?  And so, after making about a thousand specialized syscalls
> standard in the kernel, you end up with IRIX (from what I've heard).

This isn't just for him. Many people have wanted it.

> 	Don't even get me started about opening security holes, and
> increasing code complexity.  Please do a search for every other

I'll get you started. Compare:

1. variable-length ASCII strings with undefined ad-hoc syntax
2. array of fixed-size (64-bit) values

> ps - CPU time is cheap, that's why they don't charge for it anymore.
> Programmer time is _not_.

Parsing costs programmer time.

  parent reply	other threads:[~2001-03-13 21:32 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 29+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2001-03-12 17:08 system call for process information? Guennadi Liakhovetski
2001-03-12 18:27 ` Alexander Viro
2001-03-12 21:21   ` Guennadi Liakhovetski
2001-03-13  2:56     ` Nathan Paul Simons
2001-03-13  3:20       ` Alexander Viro
2001-03-13  9:55         ` Guennadi Liakhovetski
2001-03-13 21:05       ` Albert D. Cahalan [this message]
2001-03-13 22:02         ` Nathan Paul Simons
2001-03-13 22:50           ` Albert D. Cahalan
2001-03-13 22:52         ` Rik van Riel
2001-03-14  1:53           ` Martin Dalecki
2001-03-14  2:28             ` Rik van Riel
2001-03-14  8:24               ` george anzinger
2001-03-14 19:19                 ` Rik van Riel
2001-03-14 16:27                   ` george anzinger
2001-03-15 12:24                   ` changing mm->mmap_sem (was: Re: system call for process information?) Rik van Riel
2001-03-16  9:49                     ` Stephen C. Tweedie
2001-03-16 11:50                       ` Rik van Riel
2001-03-16 12:53                         ` Stephen C. Tweedie
2001-03-18  7:23                           ` Rik van Riel
2001-03-18  9:56                             ` Mike Galbraith
2001-03-18 10:46                               ` Rik van Riel
2001-03-18 12:33                                 ` Mike Galbraith
2001-03-14  1:59           ` system call for process information? john slee
2001-03-14 19:53   ` Szabolcs Szakacsits
2001-03-14 19:55     ` Alexander Viro
2001-03-14 20:23       ` Szabolcs Szakacsits
2001-03-14 20:21         ` Alexander Viro
2001-03-13 12:17 Rajiv Majumdar

Reply instructions:

You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:

* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
  and reply-to-all from there: mbox

  Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style

* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
  switches of git-send-email(1):

  git send-email \
    --in-reply-to=200103132105.f2DL5D8411265@saturn.cs.uml.edu \
    --to=acahalan@cs.uml.edu \
    --cc=g.liakhovetski@ragingbull.com \
    --cc=linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org \
    --cc=npsimons@fsmlabs.com \
    --cc=viro@math.psu.edu \
    /path/to/YOUR_REPLY

  https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html

* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
  via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line before the message body. 
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox;
as well as URLs for NNTP newsgroup(s).