Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!helios!inetg1!dprrhb
From: dprrhb@inetg1.ARCO.COM (Reginald H. Beardsley)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: source for open(2)
Message-ID: <1991May7.140448.10727@Arco.COM>
Date: 7 May 91 14:04:48 GMT
Sender: dprrhb@inetg1 (Reginald H. Beardsley)
Organization: ARCO Oil & Gas Company
Lines: 33


  Where is the source for the open() system call?  I have looked through fs,
mm, and kernel.  I found the code for DOING the work, but not the entry point.
From the structure of Minix this should be code to send a message to fs and 
then call the process scheduler.  It appears to be in libc.a but there is no
code for the current implementation in /usr/src/lib just source for a POSIX.1
compliant entry point.

   I have written code to do logical name translation for file and path names 
and want to test it using Minix.  If you wonder why I would want to do this 
I suggest that you work for a while with Motif and X11. (or for that matter 
try to put bcc someplace other than where Bruce put it.)

   The basic idea is as follows:

   Upon entry to open() check the path string against a table file in the 
user's home directory.  If a match is found change the path to the new string
produced by string substitution.  Next check a system translation table in 
/etc and substitute again.  This allows full revectoring of any file or 
directory without requiring write access outside the user's own space.
Effectively, it provides private symbolic links.

   I also would like any comments about possible problems with the idea.
There are, of course, some complications that will result for things like
ls, which, etc, which still need to be resolved.  I plan to go look at 
how VMS handles this to see what to do about that. Thanks all.

-- 
Reginald H. Beardsley       
ARCO Information Services
Plano, TX 75075           
Phone: (214)-754-6785
Internet: dprrhb@arco.com