aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP (02/09/88)
>>In article <9690@tekecs.TEK.COM> andrew@frip.gwd.tek.com (Andrew Klossner) writes: >> So you add s|^/bin/rm$|/user/me/bin/rm| to your >> translation list." >> > > Rather than building things like this into the OS, they can just as >easily be handled in the shell. Rather than forcing everyone to worry about >security problems, etc, etc, why not simply have your shell support all the >translation you can handle, since the UNIX file system layout is pretty >straightforward. > >--mjr(); I am sure that mjr is aware of the obvious deficiency of shell only translations: execl("/bin/cp",...). The shell is not the place to put all extensions. Witness how RMS is trying to get POSIX to phrase file name semantics so that ~ can be put in GNU.
gallmeis@wasp.cs.unc.edu (Bill O. Gallmeister) (02/10/88)
In article <28200096@ccvaxa> aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP writes: > >>>In article <9690@tekecs.TEK.COM> andrew@frip.gwd.tek.com (Andrew Klossner) writes: >>> So you add s|^/bin/rm$|/user/me/bin/rm| to your translation list." >> >> Rather than building things like this into the OS, they can just as >>easily be handled in the shell. >> >>--mjr(); > >I am sure that mjr is aware of the obvious deficiency of shell only >translations: execl("/bin/cp",...). > >The shell is not the place to put all extensions. Witness how RMS is trying >to get POSIX to phrase file name semantics so that ~ can be put in GNU. First point: Is this really architectural discussion? Let's put it in comp.unix. I've directed followups there. Second point: There is more than OS and applications in the (UNIX) world -- there are libraries. Why cannot a library be built to adequately support a user's environment? Granted that UNIX doesn't do it now, and granted that you will probably end up with a big ol' library. So use shared libraries. This technique is already being used for big windowing stuff like Sun Windows (not exactly a library, but shared, it is). There are two groups of function that a system provides: protected-type stuff, and generally-helpful-type stuff. Examples of the two are devices: protected, and printf/string functions: generally helpful. Seems obvious that you needn't weigh down the operating system with the generally helpful stuff. Instead, just allow the generally helpful stuff to be shared efficiently among everybody. - billo --- Bill O. Gallmeister gallmeis@cs.unc.edu "You're just one of those boys with a sink full of dishes. You ain't looking for nothing but someone dumb enough to come and wash your dishes. You go home and play your radio."