Subject: Re: Large inodes for ffs
To: Jason Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov>
From: Chris G. Demetriou <cgd@netbsd.org>
List: tech-kern
Date: 03/24/1999 13:25:44
Jason Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov> writes:

> On 24 Mar 1999 11:21:00 -0800 
>  cgd@netbsd.org (Chris G. Demetriou) wrote:
> 
>  > (2) i believe that the user-land interface could easily be exported a
>  > different, better way that doesn't involve a new syscall.
>  > e.g. fcntl().  fcntl() is "file control".  it's ioctl-like already...
> 
> Unfortunately, fcntl()'s interface is totally, completely, and utterly
> broken.
> 
> int	fcntl(int fd, int cmd, int arg);
> 
> That "int arg" is the killer; can't pass a pointer to data.

uh, that doesn't match either the prototype or syscall declaration on
NetBSD, though it does seem to match the NetBSD manual page.

further, if your argument were correct and the manual page actually
matched reality, existing fcntl() in NetBSD couldn't work properly,
since the locking-related controls pass in a pointer.  8-)


Looks to me like our fcntl() manual page is broken in several ways,
and should be updated to look more like the solaris manual page (which
provides the correct understanding of the nature of 'arg').  8-)


cgd
-- 
Chris Demetriou - cgd@netbsd.org - http://www.netbsd.org/People/Pages/cgd.html
Disclaimer: Not speaking for NetBSD, just expressing my own opinion.