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Aucbvax.5603 fa.unix-wizards utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!unix-wizards Sun Dec 27 11:42:30 1981 /etc/rc: stdin/stdout/stderr to /dev/console? >From wales@UCLA-Security Sun Dec 27 11:29:23 1981 We are running 4.1bsd on VAXen. A perusal of the "init" code shows that, just before invoking /etc/rc, files 0-2 (stdin, stdout, stderr) are opened on the file "/" as follows:

open ("/", 0); dup (0); dup (0);

The reason for this is not immediately obvious to me.

(1) If the purpose is to close off input and output on /etc/rc, why not open "/dev/null" instead of "/"? (2) Processes forked from /etc/rc still appear to respond to the console. For example, if I do a rubout during "fsck -p > /dev/console", the "fsck" program goes away. (3) Almost every line in /etc/rc has "> /dev/console" on it. Why not simply set up /dev/console as the stdin/stdout/stderr of /etc/rc?

-- Rich

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