[NTLUG:Discuss] What is the deal with SuSE

[Chris Cox]

Leroy Tennison wrote:
....
> 
> You brought up something I've been wondering about.  I had heard about 
> udev but don't know anything about it.  Can you explain briefly (or 
> point me to something which does):
> 
> What was "wrong" with /devfs that caused it to be replaced


I'd start here:
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/kernel/hotplug/udev.html

But I'd also recommend doing a search for "udev" on
http://kerneltrap.org

devfs cluttered the kernel.  Linus (and others) don't like kernel
clutter.  Without rehashing the debate.. I think it pretty much
can be reduced to that.

> How udev is different

Userspace implementation.  Gets it (well most of it) out of
the kernel.

> What is so great about udev

Better abstraction for device names.  Better hotplugging support.
Linux used to suffer quite a bit from not having a good way to
identify devices (device names).  It's now more uniform (though
there are a couple of oopses in the current implementation.. nobody's
perfect).  Arguably, many of the same good points of devfs.  Use
the links above to see the value-add points of udev (and the places
where devfs had some nifty features).

> How does it affect me practically (where will I see/feel the differences).

Gives you better device management and better hotplugging support
(ideally).  There are some nice features of devfs that might be
difficult to do though.

> 
> I don't want to be cynical but I'm not convinced that 'new' is 
> necessarily 'better'.  A prime example is 'nslookup' being depreciated 
> and possibly being replaced with 'dig'.

I agree that "new" doesn't necessarily mean "better". I do think the
new stuff is a better foundation (wish the "oopses" weren't there
though).  "nslookup" is a bug-ridden tool that does NOT (read that
with extreme emphasis) do things correctly.  If you don't like
"dig", try the more human friendly "host" command.  I'm afraid there
are VERY good reasons why nslookup had to die.

Is udev better than devfs?  Yes.  Why?  Because the kernel developers
have already deprecated the use of devfs :)