Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!munnari!otc!softway!necisa!boyd
From: boyd@necisa.necisa.oz (Boyd Roberts)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: syscall(2) function (really: syscall(3))
Message-ID: <807@necisa.necisa.oz>
Date: 16 Mar 89 02:23:28 GMT
References: <3740@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> <8984@alice.UUCP> <9757@smoke.BRL.MIL> <1449@ubu.warwick.UUCP> <9820@smoke.BRL.MIL>
Organization: NEC Information Systems Australia Pty. Ltd.
Lines: 24

This discussion is really getting beyond the pale.  The _correct_
evaluation is probably three-fold:

   1.  In V[67] there was such a feature which worked out the
       system call from the byte following the trap instruction.

       From a historical perspective such functionality was turned
       into a library routine.

   2.  Portability in some bizzare sense.  Although, by rights there
       should be a function for every system call you'd need to make.

   3.  A simple mechanisam for adding system calls without having to
       mess with libc.  Useful for debugging during kernel development.


Now, enough!  Desist!  Stop!


Boyd Roberts			NEC Information Systems Australia

boyd@necisa.necisa.oz

``When the going gets wierd, the weird turn pro...''