FreeLists / openbeosnetteam / [openbeosnetteam] Re: PPP, libnet, and why inside the kernel?

[philippe.houdoin@xxxxxxx]

> When the kernel couldn't load the networking stack module, 
> the call to socket() could just return an error, it doesn't 
> have to be included in the kernel for this.

It's exactly what it does *already* if, for whatever reason, the 
stack can't be accessed.

> Anyway, I would rather see *all* networking related functions in 
> libnet.so.

And most if not all R5 apps will *look* in this same library, too.
It's not like we've really any choice, here.

But I think what David have in mind on this topic is
bypassing the /dev/net/stack driver, by exporting the today 
core's soinit + socreate in a kernel socket() syscall, which the userland 
part socket() will simply call from libnet.so. And same for all others 
sockets API.

My opinion on this suggestion is I would like better a kernel 
who don't even know what a network stack or socket is. He knows 
only what file descriptors are, and that's far enough we needs.
Small is beautifull.

Let's hide any network stuff to the kernel by placing them 
in kernel modules, that the purpose of a modular kernel: we can expand, 
dynamicly :-) what's the OS low-level services...

-Philippe