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Date:      Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:31:02 -0500
From:      "Jason A. Spiro" <jasonspiro4@gmail.com>
To:        Craig Small <csmall@enc.com.au>, freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org
Subject:   Suggestion: rename "killall" to "fkill", but wait five years to phase the new name in
Message-ID:  <c241693f0912212231g5c380246kf12f7bde974bb734@mail.gmail.com>

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Dear Craig, thanks for maintaining the "killall" command on Linux.
Dear hackers, thanks for maintaining it on FreeBSD.

Naming it the same as System V killall, which just kills all
processes, can wreak havoc.  When someone types a standard Linux
killall command line as root on a Solaris or HP-UX server, System V
killall runs and kills all processes.

It might be good if you'd rename it to something else.  Not "akill"
(All Kill):  it looks like IRIX probably ships with something called
akill already, so this would be confusing.  Maybe "fkill" (Friendly
Kill).

You could do this in phases:  for the first five years,
/usr/bin/killall could print a warning onscreen, then function as
usual.  After five years, it could cease to function unless you call
it as "fkill".

Craig, and hackers, are you both willing to do this?

-Jason

--
Jason Spiro: software/web developer, packager, trainer, IT consultant.
I support Linux, UNIX, Windows, and more. Contact me to discuss your needs.
+1 (416) 992-3445 / www.jspiro.com



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