Re: LANANA: To Pending Device Number Registrants

[Ingo Oeser]

On Tue, May 15, 2001 at 08:10:29AM -0700, Linus Torvalds wrote:
> That said:
> 
> >     /* Use scsi if possible [scsi, ide-scsi, usb-scsi, ...] */
> >     if(HAS_FEATURE_SET(fd, "scsi-tape"))
> >             ...
> >     else if(HAS_FEATURE_SET(fd, "floppy-tape"))
> >             ..
> 
> doesn't look horrible,

That is good and the thing other OS do since years. The call it
"DEVCAPS" or "device capabilities". They use bitmasks for this
(which might not be perfect).

> and I don't see why we couldn't expose the "driver
> name" for any file descriptor.

Because we dont like to replace:

   if (st.device == MAJOR_1)
      bla
   else if ...

with

   if (!strcmp(st.device,"driver_1") )
      bla
   else if ...

?

There is no win doing it this way, because every time we add a
new driver that fits or change the name of one, we need add
support for it.

But the device majors are not needed for this, that's true ;-)

Regards

Ingo Oeser
-- 
10.+11.03.2001 - 3. Chemnitzer LinuxTag <http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/linux/tag>
         <<<<<<<<<<<<     been there and had much fun   >>>>>>>>>>>>
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