Re: [RCF] [PATCH] unprivileged mount/umount

Bryan Henderson
2005-05-13T21:00:42Z

>Sorry if I am saying something dumb here.
>Correct me. When a file descriptor is sent from one process to other,

This confusion, incidentally, is brought to you by the ambiguous use of
the term "file descriptor." In classic Unix, the "file descriptor" is the
integer that open() returns. It's an improper use of the term
"descriptor," as this value does not describe but identifies. But in the
SCM_RIGHTS context, the term "file descriptor" is used to refer to a
handle for a file image. While it's true that a file descriptor goes in
one end of the pipe and a (generally different) file descriptor comes out
the other end, what's being passed is a handle for a file image (aka open
instance).

--
Bryan Henderson IBM Almaden Research Center
San Jose CA Filesystems