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Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 14:27:55 -0500 (EST)
From: Alexander Viro <viro@math.psu.edu>
To: David Lang <david.lang@digitalinsight.com>
cc: "Eric S. Raymond" <esr@thyrsus.com>, Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk>,
        "Mr. James W. Laferriere" <babydr@baby-dragons.com>,
        Giacomo Catenazzi <cate@debian.org>,
        Linux Kernel List <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: Hardwired drivers are going away?
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On Mon, 14 Jan 2002, David Lang wrote:

> I can see a couple reasons for building a kernel without useing modules.
> 
> 1. security, if you don't need any modules you can disable modules entirly
> and then it's impossible to add a module without patching the kernel first
> (the module load system calls aren't there)

Oh, please...  Give me permissions sufficient to make these syscalls
and in a couple of minutes your kernel will be replaced with ELIZA.
As a bonus - ELIZA running under TOPS-10 on PDP-10 emulator.  And talking
to PARRY.

Anyway, it's trivial to disable said system calls just before doing
execve("/sbin/init",...).  It won't buy you any security, but if you
insist...

> 2. speed, there was a discussion a few weeks ago pointing out that there
> is some overhead for useing modules (far calls need to be used just in
> case becouse the system can't know where the module will be located IIRC)

_That_ has to be addressed - regardless of anything else, if that suckitude
can be fixed it should be.

> 3. simplicity in building kernels for other machines. with a monolithic
> kernel you have one file to move (and a bootloader to run) with modules
> you have to move quite a few more files.

FVO"quite a few" equal to 2.  Kernel and initramfs.cpio.gz

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