Hi. I have the latest slackware-current iso and I will be installing the huge.s (2.6.x) kernel and from what I've read udev will be used instantly if 2.6.x kernel is detected. So is it safe not to even install hotplug if I use the 2.6.x kernel ? Or should I install it and still use it (make /etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug executable) ??? Thank you.

Yes, it is safe not to install it...but it is also safe to use it, assuming you enable hotplug. hotplug is the kernel part that udev NEEDS to work. You need the following in your kernel config (which is probably enabled by default):
udev is completely in userspace and therefore should install and be configured like any other program.
Using udev is optional really. If you're sure that you have all the right devices in /dev that you need and you have /etc/fstab all setup nicely and you won't have a problem with finding which device your USB drive is each time you plug it in, then you're fine not using udev. But if you want to be cool, use udev

Recent UDEV releases do not need hotplug any longer. I understand you are going to install a Slackware-current with a >= 2.6.15 kernel and udev-0.97. This allows your kernel events to be managed straight by udev. This results in a faster boot time and you can benefit of the consistent naming of pluggable devices. My opinion is sytems using udev are now stable. I would install hotplug anyway, just in case of a possible kernel 2.4 downgrade. I "kindly" disagree with _linuxLuser_, udev works fine now, not just a matter "to be cool".
Ciao

Thanks for that info, urka58. I wasn't aware of the changes. A bit of Googling revealed that apparently you can use only udev now and ditch the whole hotplug thing altogether. It seems to be only a matter of
However, I'm not sure this is a permanent solution. Any other thoughts? I currently am using hotplug and I would like to get rid of it if I could.
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/archive/...p/t-97479.html
http://lwn.net/Articles/123932/ (look at the "But what about udev?" section)

PS I was just kidding with the "if you want to be cool" thing.

_linuxLuser_,
It is interesting to me knowing there is a parallel project. I would stay with udev as it seems to me it is showing the major development activity. Apart from this, using a "pure udev" system is not just a matter of installing udev since proper init scripts and recent programs managing modules are strickly required. (ie modules-init-tools).
Here is a blog you can find interesting although distro specific infos
http://piterpunk.info02.com.br/extra/
I would "sniff the air" on your specific forum distro first, just to see what say users.
Ciao