Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!ukc!stl!idec!marlow!fox From: fox@marlow.uucp (Paul Fox) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: What kinds of things would you want in the GNU OS? Message-ID: <650@alice.marlow.uucp> Date: 15 Jun 89 13:29:30 GMT References: <106326@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <3290@ncar.ucar.edu> Reply-To: fox@marlow.UUCP (Paul Fox) Organization: Reuters Ltd PLC, Marlow, Bucks, England Lines: 41 I would like a system-call something like this: signal(SIGSCHED, my_scheduling_routine); what this means is that every time a process is rescheduled, the now running process would start at the same address. This function 'my_scheduling_routine' can then invoke its own private scheduler. This is the core functionality required for 'threads'. If this signal isnt setup, then a process simply resumes from where it left off. This means that the kernel maybe has a very simplistic scheduler which schedules processes (preferably one like RSTS/E), and threads can be scheduler by a piece of library code or rewritten as your heart desires. It would sure be nice to have the PDP-10/TOPS-10 like concept of a gettab table. Instead of having to look at symbol tables to work out where things are in /dev/mem to see the status of the system it would be nice to have a very fast and efficient mechanism to see whats going on the kernel. Maybe map the kernel address space into user space in read-only mode (a la VMS ?). Definitely want process tracing a la SunOS 4 or better. Even better still is some form of kernel tracing - eg watch all file system accesses which fail with EPERM, etc. This gives us the ability to build our own security access monitors. Probably more things as I think about them.... Oh yeah and finally...orthogonality. I dont want a million and one different configuration files which try to maintain compatability with SysV or BSD just for the hell of it. Make everything look the same - that way I can understand what a file is for or how to modify it without RTFM. -- ===================== Reuters Ltd PLC, Tel: +44 628 891313 x. 212 Westthorpe House, UUCP: fox%marlow.uucp@idec.stc.co.uk Little Marlow, Bucks, England SL7 3RQ