"Eric Gillespie, Jr." wrote:

> nc (netcat) is one of the most useful tools around.  When
> installing a new system, the first thing i always do is put an nc
> binary on a floppy so i can mass-transfer other files onto the
> system.

Never used it...  You haven't described its functionality here, so I'm
still not sure what it does.  ftp(1) is also a useful mass transfer
program :-)

> [ ... ]
> 
> I'm sure even suggesting adding a program to the base system at
> this point is sacrilege, but it is very small (12315 bytes
> dynamically linked).

If it's in /bin, it implies that you'll use it in single user mode.
If so, it has to be statically linked.  Once you start pulling in
nameserver goo, static program size explodes...

> Its usefulness more than justifies its
> presence, IMHO.

While I don't mean to sound too negative, I'm wondering what usefulness
it provides over other tools already in the base system.

Simon.
--
Simon Burge                            <simonb@wasabisystems.com>
NetBSD CDs, Support and Service:    http://www.wasabisystems.com/