Subject: Re: /proc + Linux emul: "exe" is no symlink
To: Hubert Feyrer <hubert@feyrer.de>
From: Thor Lancelot Simon <tls@rek.tjls.com>
List: tech-kern
Date: 10/25/2006 13:17:49
On Wed, Oct 25, 2006 at 12:36:54AM +0200, Hubert Feyrer wrote:
> 
> Linux' /proc/$$/exe is a symlink while it' a regular file on NetBSD's 
> procfs (mounted with -o linux).
> 
> Linux:
>   rfhinf090% dir /proc/$$/exe
>   lrwxrwxrwx  1 feyrer bedienst 0 Oct 25 00:31 /proc/19364/exe -> /bin/tcsh
> 
> NetBSD:
>   noon% dir /emul/linux/proc/$$/exe
>   -r-xr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  298032 Aug 11 02:09 /emul/linux/proc/13537/exe
> 
> How hard would it be to fix our procfs to have the 'exe' entry as symlink?

It's bogus -- it requires a vnode-to-name translation that is not always
possible, and, when it is, requires the storage of a great deal of extra
information in a frequently accessed datastructure in the kernel.

Thor