>>> However, for the purpose of building a diskless environment on a
>>> non-NetBSD server, it would be handy if:
>>> a) there were a dev.tgz package or

>It has been pointed out by others that this might not work.
>Re: $(()) usage.
[...]
>Well SunOS 4.1.4 still exists and does not have a POSIX shell
>though the pdksh is available...
[...]

>>The real reason that MAKEDEV can't necessarily be run on the server is
>>that the server's mknod and device node format may be (grossly 8-)

>Yes this is indeed possible (I guess), though given that the "server"
>really only needs to be able to create /dev/console and whatever other
>devices are needed for netbsd to netboot single user - at which point
>you can create the rest of the devices using NetBSD.
>Perhaps a portable MAKEDEV.minimum would be a solution?

Perhaps it's time again to think of a dynamically built "devfs", where
the devices are automagically "built" by the devices the kernel finds
at autoconfiguration time.  I believe the FreeBSD guys have a beta of
this in FreeBSD-current.

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  Michael L. VanLoon                           michaelv@MindBender.serv.net
      Contract software development for Windows NT, Windows 95 and Unix.
             Windows NT and Unix server development in C++ and C.

        --<  Free your mind and your machine -- NetBSD free un*x  >--
    NetBSD working ports: 386+PC, Mac 68k, Amiga, Atari 68k, HP300, Sun3,
        Sun4/4c/4m, DEC MIPS, DEC Alpha, PC532, VAX, MVME68k, arm32...
    NetBSD ports in progress: PICA, others...
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