Re: LANANA: To Pending Device Number Registrants

Linus Torvalds
2001-05-14T20:31:02Z

On Mon, 14 May 2001, Jeff Garzik wrote:
>
> Note also that persistence of permissions and hardcoded in-kernel naming
> is a problem throughout proc... It's not unique to in-driver
> filesystems.

Also note how a 32-bit (or 64-bit) dev_t does NOT make it any easier to
manage permissions or anything like that anyway. Look at the current mess
/dev is. Imagine it an order of magnitude worse.

Big device numbers are _not_ a solution. I will accept a 32-bit one, but
no more, and I will _not_ accept a "manage by hand" approach any more. The
time has long since come to say "No". Which I've done. If you can't make
it manage the thing automatically with a script, you won't get a hardcoded
major device number just because you're lazy.

End of discussion.

Linus