Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Sun, 4 Nov 2001 14:11:03 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id ; Sun, 4 Nov 2001 14:10:55 -0500 Received: from neon-gw-l3.transmeta.com ([63.209.4.196]:16134 "EHLO neon-gw.transmeta.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id ; Sun, 4 Nov 2001 14:10:42 -0500 To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org From: torvalds@transmeta.com (Linus Torvalds) Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: dot-proc interface [was: /proc stuff] Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 19:07:53 +0000 (UTC) Organization: Transmeta Corporation Message-ID: <9s43m9$doh$1@penguin.transmeta.com> In-Reply-To: <20011104163354.C14001@unthought.net> <160QM5-1HAz5sC@fmrl00.sul.t-online.com> <20011104172742Z16629-26013+37@humbolt.nl.linux.org> X-Trace: palladium.transmeta.com 1004901037 27719 127.0.0.1 (4 Nov 2001 19:10:37 GMT) X-Complaints-To: news@transmeta.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 4 Nov 2001 19:10:37 GMT Cache-Post-Path: palladium.transmeta.com!unknown@penguin.transmeta.com X-Cache: nntpcache 2.4.0b5 (see http://www.nntpcache.org/) Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org In article <20011104172742Z16629-26013+37@humbolt.nl.linux.org>, Daniel Phillips wrote: >On November 4, 2001 05:45 pm, Tim Jansen wrote: >> > The dot-proc file is basically a binary encoding of Lisp (or XML), e.g. it >> > is a list of elements, wherein an element can itself be a list (or a >> >> Why would anybody want a binary encoding? > >Because they have a computer? That's a stupid argument. The computer can parse anything. It's us _humans_ that are limited at parsing. We like text interfaces, because that's how we are brought up. We aren't good at binary, and we're not good at non-linear, "structured" interfaces. In contrast, a program can be taught to parse the ascii files quite well, and does not have the inherent limitations we humans have. Sure, it has _other_ limitations, but /proc being ASCII is sure as hell not one of them. In short: /proc is ASCII, and will so remain while I maintain a kernel. Anything else is stupid. Handling spaces and newlines is easy enough - see the patches from Al Viro, for example. Linus - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/