implenting BB variations of standard system calls

[Bernhard Fischer]

On Thu, Apr 20, 2006 at 09:50:02AM -0400, Robert P. J. Day wrote:
>On Thu, 20 Apr 2006, Tito wrote:

I can't even parse the notation of the subject so just one quick note
on one specific argument you raise..

>besides, while i appreciate the philosophy that busybox is obsessed
>with bytes, these days, given that memory is getting cheaper and flash
>and RAM chips are getting larger (and this trend is only going to
>continue), it only makes sense that it's not *quite* as important to
>save 10 or 20 bytes as it used to be.
>
>i'm not suggesting that it doesn't matter at all, of course, only that
>it's not the "life or death" issue it used to be.

Several devices (consumer-grade routers come to mind) are equipped
with 4MB worth of ROM, so if you want to put a kernel and a smallish
userspace onto these to drive them on your own, e.g. a Redhat
minimal-install won't cut it. The same goes for a plain install of
allmodconfig (or something to the effect thereof) of your favourite
kernel and busybox.

It's a fact that in constrained environments, you have to choose what
to add and what to remove. Any argument that "10 or 20 bytes" are
unimportant is moot if they exist for no good reason as they sum up.

PS: note that 4MB is already pretty big, so this number is perhaps
a bad example.