Re: Lua as a scripting language in NetBSD

[der Mouse <mouse%Rodents-Montreal.ORG@localhost>]

> The idea of having something with the power, flexibility and
> (relative) ease of use of Lua within the kernel makes me practically
> giggle with the excitement of how useful it could be.

It also makes the Lua runtime - heck, the Lua just about everything - a
very very security-critical piece of software.

Of course, for some applications that doesn't matter.  I once worked on
a robot control system where the ability to use the system at all was,
in skilled hands, instant root access.  For the application, this was
acceptable, but it would never have flown on a general-purpose machine.
Lua in the kernel strikes me as simultaneously totally cool for the
opportunities it would bring and hair-raising for the risk it would
bring.

Of course, as long as we don't _require_ Lua's presence in the kernel,
this is just a question of people choosing to take risks, which I can
hardly argue with; I've got enough custom code in my own kernels....

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