Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 14:28:35 +0200 (MET DST) From: sos@FreeBSD.org To: fty@mcnc.org (Frank E. Terhaar-Yonkers) Cc: bde@zeta.org.au, sos@FreeBSD.org, current@FreeBSD.org, freebsd-current@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: minor syscons bogon Message-ID: <199604251228.OAA17467@ra.dkuug.dk> In-Reply-To: <199604251113.HAA02980@robin.mcnc.org.mcnc.org> from "Frank E. Terhaar-Yonkers" at Apr 25, 96 07:13:55 am
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In reply to Frank E. Terhaar-Yonkers who wrote:
>
> Does anything actually use this kludge? Like, how would an application
> even know that /dev/ttyv[MAXCONS] == /dev/console ? This is very ugly.
NO vty is the same as /dev/console, period. But by changing the MAXCONS
define you break the logic in syscons that deals with this.
NO application is supposed to know ANYTHING about MAXCONS, its an internal
define to syscons, and it shouldn't be tampered with (except you know
EXACTLY what you are doing). It is a hack that solves an old problem
in the way interaction with the console is done internally in the kernel.
There was a time when it defined the number of consoles available, but
that is long gone, as that is done dynamically now.
It has nothing to do with the physical /dev/console device which is
alwas on the same major/minor no matter what MAXCONS is set to.
So don't change MAXCONS, and don't make more than the 16 vty's
that MAKEDEV allows you to, or something VERY UGLY is going to happen.
I wouldn't advise that you go change random defines all over the
place or you are in for some REAL trouble.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Soren Schmidt (sos@FreeBSD.org) FreeBSD Core Team
So much code to hack -- so little time.
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