I think it should do a system shutdown, not a kernel reboot. So
it should be able to call shutdown and halt the system properly.
As I said, the computer doesn't has a screen, so if there is any
mistake when writing without seeing it, the users (who don't
know unix) won't notice it.


On Sun, Jun 10, 2001 at 01:41:25PM -0400, Greg A. Woods wrote:

> [ On Sunday, June 10, 2001 at 11:11:12 (+0200), Martin Husemann wrote: ]
> 
> I think maybe on i386 <ctrl+alt+del> should also invoke the kernel
> debugger, if it's available, and then the debugger can print a helpful
> little message that tells people who "forget" that they can type
> "reboot" to reboot, or "continue" to return to the system (eg. to do a
> "normal" or "proper" shutdown).  Even the most clueless luser should be
> able to figure this much out and it gives people building turn-key
> systems a decent fail-safe that on an otherwise wedged system will allow
> at least the disks to be sync'ed if at all possible.
> 
> However if the debugger is not available then nothing should happen
> (except maybe a little kernel printf saying "no debugger support" or
> some such).  I don't see any reason why people who want a keyboard hook
> into the kernel to reboot the system can't use the debugger to do it;
> and there must remain away for people who don't want this functionality
> to disable it (the latter have got to also remove the debugger anyway).
> 
> I.e. the only correct way to support <ctrl+alt+del> on i386 (and any
> other port that wants to mimic a PC) should be through the debugger.  I
> don't see any benefit to hooking it directly to the debugger's "reboot"
> function either -- the extra command is _not_ a burden when you're
> contemplating such a drastic action.  Even worse forcing an immediate
> reboot from the keyboard would be very un-unix-like (even BSD/OS asks
> "reboot? (y/n)").
> 
> -- 
> 							Greg A. Woods
> 
> +1 416 218-0098      VE3TCP      <gwoods@acm.org>     <woods@robohack.ca>
> Planix, Inc. <woods@planix.com>;   Secrets of the Weird <woods@weird.com>