linux-kernel - Re: 2.6.18-rc1-mm2: process `showconsole' used the removed sysctl system call

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Date:	Sun, 16 Jul 2006 01:31:41 +0200
From:	Michal Piotrowski <michal.k.k.piotrowski@...il.com>
To:	Andrew Morton <akpm@...l.org>
CC:	Tilman Schmidt <tilman@...p.cc>, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
	"Eric W. Biederman" <ebiederm@...ssion.com>
Subject: Re: 2.6.18-rc1-mm2: process `showconsole' used the removed sysctl
 system call

Hi Andrew,

Andrew Morton wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 16:40:36 +0200
> Tilman Schmidt <tilman@...p.cc> wrote:
> 
>> After installing a 2.6.18-rc1-mm2 kernel without sysctl syscall support
>> on a standard SuSE 10.0 system, I find the following in my dmesg:
>>
>>> [   36.955720] warning: process `showconsole' used the removed sysctl system call
>>> [   39.656410] warning: process `showconsole' used the removed sysctl system call
>>> [   43.304401] warning: process `showconsole' used the removed sysctl system call
>>> [   45.717220] warning: process `ls' used the removed sysctl system call
>>> [   45.789845] warning: process `touch' used the removed sysctl system call
>> which at face value seems to contradict the statement in the help text
>> for the CONFIG_SYSCTL_SYSCALL option that "Nothing has been using the
>> binary sysctl interface for some time time now". (sic)
>>
>> Meanwhile, the second part of that sentence that "nothing should break"
>> by disabling it seems to hold true anyway. The system runs fine, and
>> activating CONFIG_SYSCTL_SYSCALL in the kernel doesn't seem to have any
>> effect apart from changing the word "removed" to "obsolete" in the above
>> messages.
> 
> Thanks.
> 

date and salsa also use sysctl.

warning: process `date' used the removed sysctl system call
warning: process `salsa' used the removed sysctl system call

> Eric, that tends to make the whole idea inviable, doesn't it?

How about _very_ long term to remove sysctl (i.e. January 2010)?

Regards,
Michal

-- 
Michal K. K. Piotrowski
LTG - Linux Testers Group
(http://www.stardust.webpages.pl/ltg/wiki/)

Signed-off-by: Michal Piotrowski <michal.k.k.piotowski@...il.com>

diff -uprN -X linux-mm/Documentation/dontdiff linux-mm-clean/Documentation/ABI/obsolete/sysctl linux-mm/Documentation/ABI/obsolete/sysctl
--- linux-mm-clean/Documentation/ABI/obsolete/sysctl	1970-01-01 01:00:00.000000000 +0100
+++ linux-mm/Documentation/ABI/obsolete/sysctl	2006-07-16 01:22:51.000000000 +0200
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+What:		sys_sysctl
+Date:		January 2010
+Contact:	Eric W. Biederman <ebiederm@...ssion.com>
+Description:
+	sys_sysctl uses binary paths that have been found to be a major
+	pain to maintain and use.  The interface in /proc/sys is now
+	the primary and what everyone uses.
+	
+	Nothing has been using the binary sysctl interface for some time
+	time now so nothing should break if you disable sysctl syscall
+	support, and you kernel will get marginally smaller.
+
+Users:
+
+date, ls, salsa, showconsole, touch
-
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