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- From: Stephen Usher <Stephen.Usher@earth.ox.ac.uk>
- Subject: Re: LINUX Filesystem standards
- Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 08:19:01 +0000 (GMT)
- In-Reply-To: <9401182225.AA01271@irz301.inf.tu-dresden.de> from "Michael Hohmuth" at Jan 18, 94 11:25:04 pm
- Mime-Version: 1.0
-
- >> [ Linux Filesystem Structure ]
- >
- >They've done the work for us.. I think we should use this document as a
- >very good starting point.
-
- Hmm.. I'm not TOO sure about this. Linux is VERY SYSVr4-like in its
- structure, MiNT and the environment we have so far is more BSD-like. Also,
- the Linux file structure is a right pain to use in my experience,
- everything's in the "wrong" place.
-
- If we are doing this to assist porting of programs then I suggest that we
- match our directory structure closely to that of the type of system our
- library most looks like.. which is, in general, more BSD than SYSV.
-
- >All that's left to do for us is to find any MiNT specifics and integrate
- >them into this structure.
- >
- >So I would suggest:
- >
- >o /usr/src/linux becomes /usr/src/mint
-
- Why is there a need to clarify where the source goes with MiNT? It's not as
- if you can auto config the kernel, build it, install a boot block, copy the
- kernel to the boot directory and reboot all from within MiNT using a script.
- It would be nice if MiNT had a reboot system call, but it doesn't.
-
- >o /boot points to the MiNT boot directory (which has to reside on a Tosfs
- > partition, currently); this includes mint.cnf and minix.xfs
-
- Why not fit in with other systems and call this /sbin?
-
- >o I still like the /usr/kits + /var/kits idea.. What about
- > /usr/kits/multitos?
-
- Hmm.. sounds a bit tacky.. if you're going SYSVr4-like put them under /opt,
- except for the compilers which go under /usr/ccs.
-
- >One more question: Can GEM programs be integrated in the structure?
- >Perhaps /usr/gem/<kit> or /usr/kits/<kit> something?
-
- Following SYSVr4 that would be /opt/ATARwgem/... Note the silly package
- name.. this is the new standard package naming convention defined by, I
- think, SVID or something just as silly.
-
- >What I also like about this draft is that it doesn't prescribe whether
- >/sbin/rc.* or /sbin/rc?.d/* is the standard. :-)
-
- For it to be SYSV-like it should be /etc/rc?.d. Each of the directories hold
- the scripts which are run when you change run-level. In fact, they merely
- contain links into erm.. canne remember the directory name.. where the real
- scripts are held. There are two types of scripts in the directories, those
- which are used to kill services and those which start them up.. how they are
- called depends upon thier name. The names have the structure [KS]xxname
- where K means kill script, which is called with the argument "stop" and S
- means start script, called with the argument "start." xx is the priority
- number. The scripts are run in priority order, starting with 1 and going up
- to 99.
- eg. to go to run level 3, say, the following is done by init (in pseudo csh):-
-
- $stop-scripts = (`ls /etc/rc3.d/K* | sort -n`)
- foreach script ( $stop-scripts )
- sh $script stop
- done
- $start-scripts = (`ls /etc/rc3.d/S* | sort -n`)
- foreach script ( $start-scripts )
- sh $script start
- done
-
- This seems better than the BSD way of doing things until you try to
- administer it... brr... yuck. I've had to do it on a real SYSVr4 box. The
- BSD way is simpler and easier to understand.
-
- >
- >Michael
- >--
- >Internet: hohmuth@freia.inf.tu-dresden.de
- >
-
- Steve
-
- --
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Computer Systems Administrator, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Oxford University.
- E-Mail: steve@uk.ac.ox.earth (JANET) steve@earth.ox.ac.uk (Internet).
- Tel:- Oxford (0865) 282110 (UK) or +44 865 282110 (International).
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