From: Daniel Phillips <phillips@bonn-fries.net>
To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: dot-proc interface [was: /proc stuff]
Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 20:53:39 +0100 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20011104195234Z17036-23342+8@humbolt.nl.linux.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.33.0111041141100.14150-100000@penguin.transmeta.com>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.33.0111041141100.14150-100000@penguin.transmeta.com>
On November 4, 2001 08:46 pm, Linus Torvalds wrote:
> On Sun, 4 Nov 2001, Daniel Phillips wrote:
> > >
> > > The computer can parse anything.
> >
> > OK, then lets keep the 'current' variable in ASCII.
>
> Yeah, the old "argument by absurdity".
>
> Did you ever take logics class? It isn't a valid argument at all.
>
> My argument is: humans want the data they want in a readable format. What
> the _hell_ does that have to do with the "current" variable?
> > > Handling spaces and newlines is easy enough - see the patches from Al
> > > Viro, for example.
> >
> > Why are we doing this parsing in the kernel when it can be done in user
> > space?
>
> We're not parsing anything.
>
> We're marshalling the data into a format that is independent of whatever
> internal representation the kernel happens to have for it that particular
> day.
>
> A representation that is valid across architectures, and a representation
> that is unambiguous. A representation that various scripts can trivially
> use, and a representation that is not bound by fixed-sized fields or other
> idiocy.
>
> In short, text strings.
>
> They have advantages even for a computer. Fixed-size binary interfaces are
> BAD for information interchange. They are bad as a word document file
> format, they are bad for email, and they are bad for /proc. Get it?
>
> Would you prefer doc-files to be standard text, marshalled into some
> logical form? Or do you prefer binary blobs of data that is limited by the
> binary format?
>
> Linus
>
>
next parent reply other threads:[~2001-11-04 19:52 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 118+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
[not found] <Pine.LNX.4.33.0111041141100.14150-100000@penguin.transmeta.com>
2001-11-04 19:53 ` Daniel Phillips [this message]
[not found] <20011104214229Z17052-23341+37@humbolt.nl.linux.org>
2001-11-04 23:42 ` PROPOSAL: dot-proc interface [was: /proc stuff] Alexander Viro
2001-11-05 0:10 ` Daniel Phillips
2001-11-04 23:06 Craig Thrall
2001-11-04 23:39 ` Jakob Østergaard
-- strict thread matches above, loose matches on Subject: below --
2001-11-01 10:32 [PATCH] 2.5 PROPOSAL: Replacement for current /proc of shit Rusty Russell
2001-11-04 12:30 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 13:36 ` Daniel Kobras
2001-11-04 14:13 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 15:33 ` PROPOSAL: dot-proc interface [was: /proc stuff] Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 16:05 ` Gábor Lénárt
2001-11-04 16:31 ` Daniel Phillips
2001-11-04 17:30 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 16:45 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 17:28 ` Daniel Phillips
2001-11-04 17:41 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 17:54 ` SpaceWalker
2001-11-04 20:45 ` Albert D. Cahalan
2001-11-04 17:59 ` John Levon
2001-11-04 18:31 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 18:40 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-04 19:04 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 19:24 ` Alex Bligh - linux-kernel
2001-11-04 19:45 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 19:52 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-04 20:06 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 22:01 ` Daniel Phillips
2001-11-04 21:12 ` Albert D. Cahalan
2001-11-04 21:20 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 21:42 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 22:13 ` Albert D. Cahalan
2001-11-05 11:23 ` Martin Dalecki
2001-11-05 15:58 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-05 18:30 ` Martin Dalecki
2001-11-05 23:00 ` Albert D. Cahalan
2001-11-06 13:47 ` Martin Dalecki
2001-11-06 17:13 ` Gerhard Mack
2001-11-05 16:38 ` Stephen Satchell
2001-11-05 18:39 ` Martin Dalecki
2001-11-05 18:28 ` Ben Greear
2001-11-05 18:40 ` Rik van Riel
2001-11-05 21:03 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-05 21:58 ` Ben Greear
2001-11-05 22:51 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-05 22:59 ` Erik Andersen
2001-11-05 23:35 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-05 23:41 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-06 13:49 ` Martin Dalecki
2001-11-06 19:49 ` dank
2001-11-06 22:22 ` Erik Andersen
2001-11-06 22:47 ` dank
2001-11-06 23:11 ` Erik Andersen
2001-11-06 23:39 ` Ricky Beam
2001-11-07 12:45 ` Remco Post
2001-11-07 1:06 ` George Greer
2001-11-05 19:58 ` Jonathan Lundell
2001-11-05 21:43 ` Stephen Satchell
2001-11-06 5:22 ` Ragnar Hojland Espinosa
2001-11-04 21:22 ` Alex Bligh - linux-kernel
2001-11-05 4:03 ` Stuart Young
2001-11-05 4:05 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-05 4:55 ` Stuart Young
2001-11-05 16:32 ` SpaceWalker
2001-11-06 6:46 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 19:29 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-04 19:50 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 20:01 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-04 20:09 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-06 7:23 ` Kai Henningsen
2001-11-06 14:00 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 18:27 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 18:35 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-04 18:39 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-07 1:20 ` Pavel Machek
2001-11-07 21:14 ` Rik van Riel
2000-01-01 0:13 ` Pavel Machek
2001-11-04 18:20 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 18:30 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-04 18:52 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 19:18 ` Daniel Phillips
2001-11-04 21:41 ` Albert D. Cahalan
2001-11-05 11:06 ` Martin Dalecki
2001-11-05 10:28 ` Daniel Phillips
2001-11-05 22:46 ` Albert D. Cahalan
2001-11-06 0:54 ` Daniel Phillips
2001-11-06 1:11 ` Stephen Satchell
2001-11-04 18:46 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 19:07 ` Linus Torvalds
2001-11-04 19:20 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 19:32 ` Dave Jones
2001-11-04 19:52 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 20:06 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-04 20:11 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-11 10:06 ` Kai Henningsen
2001-11-11 19:43 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-12 13:43 ` Pascal Schmidt
2001-11-13 12:09 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-13 14:41 ` Riley Williams
2001-11-04 22:09 ` Luigi Genoni
2001-11-04 17:48 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 18:02 ` John Levon
2001-11-04 18:34 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 18:59 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 19:19 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 19:24 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 19:41 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 19:55 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 20:13 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-04 20:11 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 20:47 ` Alex Bligh - linux-kernel
2001-11-04 21:02 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-04 22:53 ` Stephen Satchell
2001-11-05 11:04 ` zmwillow
2001-11-05 13:41 ` Petr Baudis
2001-11-05 20:49 ` Tim Jansen
2001-11-05 22:01 ` Ben Greear
[not found] ` <20011105223413.U11619@pasky.ji.cz>
[not found] ` <160rly-1tl3XUC@fmrl05.sul.t-online.com>
2001-11-05 22:07 ` Petr Baudis
2001-11-06 7:25 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-06 8:21 ` Petr Baudis
2001-11-06 8:34 ` Alexander Viro
2001-11-06 13:43 ` Jakob Østergaard
2001-11-06 17:01 ` Petr Baudis
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