Subject: Re: Addition to force open to open only regular files
To: Greywolf <greywolf@starwolf.com>
From: Ben Elliston <bje@air.net.au>
List: tech-kern
Date: 11/16/2000 17:55:47
   # Open(2) and close(2) should never do "destructive" things of
   # this sort.  If the device must not be rewound unexpectedly then it
   # should require an explicit ioctl() to trigger the rewind and should not
   # support a rewind-on-close.  Tapes in particular should always rewind on
   # close so as to allow eject/removal/unmount (whether by mechanised or
   # manual intervention) but they should not eject so that they cannot be
   # used again without manual intervention.

   unmistakable flaw with which, regrettably, we are somewhat stuck,
   since programs like tar, dd, dump, restore and the like tend to
   blindly open the device and go about their business.

And so they should, too!  Isn't it against the Unix philisophy for every
program that wants to use tape devices to know that /dev/rmt0 is a tape
device and issue the appropriate ioctl() calls?  Ack.

Ben