Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 18:58:57 -0700 (PDT) From: David Wolfskill <dhw@whistle.com> To: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: mounting floppy file systems Message-ID: <199804080158.SAA29024@pau-amma.whistle.com>
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Although it's tangential to the original thread, there was mention of something that I believe bears further discussion: >From: "Michael P. Sale" <mike@merchantsnet.com> >Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 12:07:06 -0700 >>It's a pity you didn't know how incredibly simple this task could >>have been. All you need is something like: >>mcopy /etc/ppp/ppp.conf a: >True, though now that I do know it, I'll probably be less likely to go to >mtools. >.... >I appreciate the mtools information, but I can't see any advantage to using >them and no one has given me any. Mounting/unmounting the floppy is as >easy as writing 2 quick scripts. (Masochistically doen allready) :-) I >appreciate advice (really, I do!), but without the facts behind the advice >it's hard for me to justify learning something new when I have so much to >learn, and I can't see a difference in changing. With all due respect, the above illustrates something that deserves a bit more attention. Others have pointed out the need to actually have the mount point (a directory -- in this case, /A) already created (though I don't recall anyone mentioning (in this thread) that /a and /A are quite different: filenames in UNIX are case-sensitive). However: using the "mount" command requires super-user (root) privilege; the mtools approach does not. This is non-trivial. The design of UNIX is such that it should be possible -- even reasonably straightforward -- to actually get constructive work done without requiring the use of root privilege (save possibly via setuid programs). (Recall that in the early days of UNIX' use at Bell Labs, there were department secretaries using UNIX systems to type memos & letters using troff, nroff, and their macro packages.) Put another way: the perception that root privilege is needed as a matter of routine is a symptom of a problem. (For example, I'll use root privilege, say, to re-build a kernel, or install some software, or update DNS "zone files"; I do *not* use root for routine tasks.) >From some perspectives, the distinction is, I suppose, a nuisance. From my perspective, the distinction is a "saving grace" -- it helps prevent my mistakes from damaging the system: as a "normal user" (which I play most of the time, even though I'm a systems administrator by profession), all I can damage are my own files (and files or directories with Really Stupid (tm) permissions set). This is one of the reasons one doesn't hear much about a "virus" in (reasonably-administered) UNIX systems. It is a Good Thing. Again (since I mentioned it in an earlier missive), if you do need to use root privilege (as you sometimes do, to administer (but not use!) a system), I strongly recommend the use of "sudo", and for those files you change, the use of the RCS commands (ci, co, rcsdiff, rlog, & rcs, mostly) can be very useful. david -- David Wolfskill dhw@whistle.com (650) 577-7158 pager: (650) 401-0168 To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message
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