From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Sun, 13 May 2001 21:04:31 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id ; Sun, 13 May 2001 21:04:21 -0400 Received: from chac.inf.utfsm.cl ([200.1.19.54]:64261 "EHLO chac.inf.utfsm.cl") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id ; Sun, 13 May 2001 21:04:01 -0400 Message-Id: <200105140103.f4E13U3r010249@sleipnir.valparaiso.cl> To: "Mike A. Harris" cc: Wayne.Brown@altec.com, Hacksaw , Linux Kernel mailing list Subject: Re: Not a typewriter In-Reply-To: Message from "Mike A. Harris" of "Sun, 13 May 2001 19:35:06 -0400." Date: Sun, 13 May 2001 21:03:30 -0400 From: Horst von Brand Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org "Mike A. Harris" said: > On Fri, 11 May 2001 Wayne.Brown@altec.com wrote: [...] > >why creat doesn't end in an "e;" and so forth. I tell the The old C compiler/old Unix linker guaranteed 6 chars in an external symbol name only, and C functions got an underscore prepended: _creat. I guess this is the reason for this wart. As to why 6 chars only, I'd guess some data structure in the linker was laid out that way. Machines had a few dozen Kbs of RAM then, space was precious. > What is the reason for that? Also wondered why it is resolv.conf > and not resolve.conf or resolver.conf... Old FS handled only 14 chars in names, but that clearly isn't the reason here (11 chars). Some other operating system perhaps? > Were they afraid that "e" being the most widely used letter in > the English language was going to war out thir xpnsiv kyboards if > thy usd it all th tim? Funny conspiracy suscpicion, that... ;-) -- Horst von Brand vonbrand@sleipnir.valparaiso.cl Casilla 9G, Vin~a del Mar, Chile +56 32 672616