Bug#495682: [PATCH] loop-AES losetup: Add option -f

Max Vozeler xam at debian.org
Tue Aug 19 19:17:09 UTC 2008


Hi Jari,

some of our users [in Debian] are starting to expect new 
options that have been added to losetup in util-linux-ng to
work with the loop-AES version of losetup as well.

This is starting to cause other packages and scripts to
break when users use loop-AES patched losetup. In particular,
someone reported to me that -f ("show next free loop") is
expected by a package in Debian and missing in loop-AES.

As a sort of stopgap measure I've written the attached patch
adding support for a limited version of option -f that just
allows to print the next free loop device.

As hpa pointed out in a discussion on the util-linux-ng list [1],
use of the -f option is inherently racy, which is why another 
way of calling losetup has been added (losetup -s -f <device>)
to find a free loop and set it up in one step.

So, the support this patch adds is imperfect, but provides at
least some rudimentary compatibility for users.

[1] http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.utilities.util-linux-ng/241

	Max
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