Matthew Ahrens (), one of the two original authors of the ZFS file system, OpenZFS source code (ZFS on Linux) from the use of the word “slave”, which is now perceived as politically incorrect. According to Matthew, the consequences of human slavery continue to affect society and in modern realities the term “slave” in computer programs is an additional reference to an unpleasant human experience.
ZFS now uses the word "dependent" instead of "slave". Among the visible changes, we can note the renaming of the zpool.d/slaves script, which is now called “dm-deps” by analogy with “dmsetup deps”. Instead of the expression “slave devices” in documentation and information messages, the phrase “dependent (underlying) devices” is used. In the header file "freebsd/spl/sys/dkio.h", the dki_slave parameter was simply removed from the dk_cinfo structure without providing a replacement. Instead of the “zpool iostat -vc slaves” command, it is proposed to use “zpool iostat -vc size”.
Links to the "/sys/class/block/$dev/slaves" directory are preserved because the name of this directory in the sysfs hierarchy is determined by the Linux kernel and cannot be changed by OpenZFS developers. You can avoid using this directory, as the same information can be obtained using the "dmsetup deps" command, but running dmsetup requires elevated privileges, while the directory in /sys/ is readable by any user.
Let us remind you that a week ago from the terms whitelist/blacklist and master/slave developers of the Go language, and before that projects abandoned the use of master/slave in code , , , , , и . In DNS server BIND instead of "master/slave" is now preferred terms "primary/secondary".
The IETF Committee (Internet Engineering Task Force), which develops the protocols and architecture of the Internet, alternatives to the terms "whitelist/blacklist" and "master/slave", preferred for use in specifications - instead of "master/slave" it is recommended to use "primary/secondary", "leader/follower",
active/standby
"primary/replica",
"writer/reader",
"coordinator/worker" or
"parent/helper", and instead of "blacklist/whitelist" - "blocklist/allowlist" or "block/permit".
It is noteworthy that on GitHub the number of opponents slightly outweighs those in favor of the renaming: 42 developers approved the change, and 48 opposed it. Proponents of getting rid of the word “slave” believe that the use of the term is unacceptable because it makes some people feel disadvantaged and brings back memories of past discrimination. In society, this word has begun to be considered offensive and causes condemnation.
Opponents of the renaming believe that politics and programming should not be confused; these are just terms whose meaning is already established in computer technology, and the negative connotation is imposed by artificial ideas of political correctness that interfere with the use of plain English. The word “slave” is multifaceted and carries several meanings that are applied depending on the context. Without content, words have no meaning and a word is only offensive if the context is offensive. The term "slave" has been used in computer systems for about 50 years and in the IT context is perceived as "slave" rather than "slave". If you allow the context to be distorted, then you can get to the point where any word can be taken out of context, presented in a distorted sense and presented as offensive.
Source: opennet.ru