Re: Module autounload proposal: opt-in, not opt-out

[Valery Ushakov <uwe%stderr.spb.ru@localhost>]

On Sun, Aug 07, 2022 at 23:08:47 +0000, Taylor R Campbell wrote:

> Currently there are many types of modules that are autoloaded from
> open-ended patterns:

Our current auto-load policy is a bit too enthusiastic, IMHO.  E.g. an
"unknown" ioctl used to (probably still does) trigger autoload of
compat module, so each time you run vi you have compat module loaded.
One one hand it might seem convenient, but on the other hand we are
getting into the "WAT?!" territory, like those dynamically typed
languages that go out of their way to interpret your program in *some*
way, using most vexing coercions, as if failure is not an option.
IMO, it most certainly is an option and often the most sensible one
too.

Auto-unload seems to me like a kludge to compensate for the blind
"let's try and see if this helps" auto-load policy.

-uwe