Commit | Line | Data |
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97d8f83c AM |
1 | |
2 | Except for a few extremely rare exceptions user space applications do not use | |
3 | the binary sysctl interface. Instead everyone uses /proc/sys/... with | |
4 | readable ascii names. | |
5 | ||
6 | Recently the kernel has started supporting setting the binary sysctl value to | |
7 | CTL_UNNUMBERED so we no longer need to assign a binary sysctl path to allow | |
8 | sysctls to show up in /proc/sys. | |
9 | ||
10 | Assigning binary sysctl numbers is an endless source of conflicts in sysctl.h, | |
11 | breaking of the user space ABI (because of those conflicts), and maintenance | |
12 | problems. A complete pass through all of the sysctl users revealed multiple | |
13 | instances where the sysctl binary interface was broken and had gone undetected | |
14 | for years. | |
15 | ||
16 | So please do not add new binary sysctl numbers. They are unneeded and | |
17 | problematic. | |
18 | ||
19 | If you really need a new binary sysctl number please first merge your sysctl | |
20 | into the kernel and then as a separate patch allocate a binary sysctl number. | |
21 | ||
22 | (ebiederm@xmission.com, June 2007) |