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Hi, |
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On Mon, 18 Sep 2006 11:10:57 +0200 Matteo Pillon |
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<matteo.pillon@×××××.com> wrote: |
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> I was wondering why Linux doesn't treat directories like files, as |
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> many other unix implementations do. |
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Pragmatic answer: |
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because nobody implemented it for most filesystems. Most filesystems |
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just define "generic_read_dir" as handling function for "readdir". |
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"generic_read_dir" always returns -EISDIR. |
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(see /usr/src/linux/fs/libfs.c and /usr/src/linux/fs/*/dir.c) |
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> For example, in Linux, you can't do 'cat .' while on FreeBSD you can. |
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> Why? There is a practical reason? |
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Well, I think it would be just another unstable API that clueless |
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programmers would get trapped by. What would be the benefit of being |
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able to open it? |
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> Forgive me this OT, I wasn't able to find a suitable list. |
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That would be the LKML :-) |
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-hwh |
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-- |
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