Re: [PATCH] print_dev_t for 2.6.0-test1-mm

Andrew Morton
2003-07-16T23:41:48Z

Andries Brouwer <aebr@win.tue.nl> wrote:
>
> > Why would anyone hand the kernel a 32-bit device number? They're either 16
> > or 64, are they not?
>
> The kernel has no control over what userspace comes with.
> And here userspace includes filesystems.
> Not all filesystems know how to come with 64 bits.

What does "comes with" mean?

Please describe a scenario in which a filesystem which works on current
kernels will, in a 64-bit-dev_t kernel, call init_special_inode() with a
16:16 encoded device number.