Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!umd5!brl-adm!adm!rbj@icst-cmr.arpa
From: rbj@icst-cmr.arpa (Root Boy Jim)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re:  Reading VAX SID register on ultrix or 4.3bsd
Message-ID: <13091@brl-adm.ARPA>
Date: 23 Apr 88 03:43:57 GMT
Sender: news@brl-adm.ARPA
Lines: 28

? I was not railing *against* the `get interesting kernel variable'
? syscalls, I was railing *for* them.  There are too few.  We could
? use a get_cpu_type syscall, in particular for the C library routines
? that use the fancy VAX instructions to do string operations.  They
? run overly slow on the MicroVAX, since this machine traps on `locc'
? and `scanc' instructions and emulates them in the kernel.
? 
? It would be nice, though, if it did not take a horrendous number
? of syscall table entries to describe all the interesting kernel
? variables; I argued for a call of the form
? 
? 	get_kernel_variable(int variable_index)
? 
? I still think this should be done.

Um, maybe I wasn't clear (won't be the first (or the last) time :-).
What I meant Chris meant is that he didn't want a separate syscall for
*each* interesting variable. He effectively wants (how do those words
taste that I'm putting in your mouth, Chris :-) to make nlist a system
call. How many things do you point nlist at besides the kernel anyway? 
 
? Chris

	(Root Boy) Jim Cottrell	<rbj@icst-cmr.arpa>
	National Bureau of Standards
	Flamer's Hotline: (301) 975-5688
	The opinions expressed are solely my own
	and do not reflect NBS policy or agreement
	YOW!!!  I am having fun!!!