On Wed, 2004-07-28 at 16:38, Matthew Miller wrote: > On Wed, Jul 28, 2004 at 03:38:50PM +0100, Jonathan Andrews wrote: > > Why doesn't the Linux kernel have an API for maintaining VARIABLE=value > > type text files built in? > > Ow. Why would you want that in the kernel? 1) Everything more than "Hello world" needs to store some configuration, so doesn't that make it a requirement of most applications hence a lot of processes within the application. 2) By putting a simple quick and understandable system in the kernel its more likely to be adopted. 3) Present in the kernel = No dependency on external libs, making it more likely to be adopted. 4) Kernel = common API - if people would only need another API if the configuration need was more complex than the base line, and mostly it is not. This will give rise to common standards, if the kernel is always only just enough then you end up with everyone having to code a slightly different variant of the same code to achieve the same result, as happens with configuration now. 5) Why not show some leadership instead of just cloning Unix/Posix - "As little as possible" need not be that same as "Not enough to be complete" Jon
