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To: =?KOI8-R?B?4c7E0sXKIP7F0s7P1w==?= <ache@nagual.pp.ru>
cc: "Justin T. Gibbs" <gibbs@plutotech.com>,
        "Sergei S. Laskavy" <laskavy@cs.msu.su>, freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
From: "Louis A. Mamakos" <louie@TransSys.COM>
Subject: Re: /bin/chio: why in /bin ? 
References: <Pine.BSF.3.96.970727002703.1364C-100000@lsd.relcom.eu.net> 
In-reply-to: Your message of "Sun, 27 Jul 1997 00:29:58 +0400."
             <Pine.BSF.3.96.970727002703.1364C-100000@lsd.relcom.eu.net> 
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Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 17:23:29 -0400
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> On Sat, 26 Jul 1997, Louis A. Mamakos wrote:
> 
> > chio is not clearly machine dependent.  It talks to any SCSI media
> > changer device, just like mt works with any SCSI tape device.  
> 
> Your words are in conflict: you talk about "not machine dependent"
> and "SCSI device". Any phisical device which not exist for all machines
> (like memory f.e.) IS machine dependance. SCSI not exist for all machines.

So what other types of tape drives are likely to be installed on a 
FreeBSD system?  Or media changes?  Ones hung off the floppy controller?

There are machines with no tape drives at all, and machines with no
network interfaces.  Yet /bin/rcp exists which isn't useful if you
don't have a network interface and /bin/domainname which is
isn't useful unless you happen to be using NIS.

By machine dependent, I take this to mean "PC architecture" or CPU-type
dependent, not based on what selection of peripherals happen to be
installed on any particular system.

I suppose you could make the system architecturally "pure" this way, yet
the result isn't likely to be either useful or practical.

louie