>> - keep new dev numbers strictly in sync (like sparc and sparc64 do)
> i think this is the crux of the problem; for a purely cosmetic reason
> a different device format was chosen.

Purely cosmetic?  I thought it was done to avoid a flag day in /dev
when switching from an 8-partition kernel to a 16-partition kernel.

Of course, you may consider that "purely cosmetic".  Personally, I'm
inclined to agree, but I suspect a lot of relatively Unix-naïve users
would disagree.

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