> This doesn't make any sense. Either it is a filename/pathname, or it is n=
ot.

I still think that in the kernel it shouldn't be thought of as a
filename and I have not yet seen any real reason why it has to be.
Whether your userspace then uses it as a filename or not is pretty much
orthogonal, it currently does for great effect, and since the only
firmware loader currently is userspace, we tend to think of it as a
filename in the kernel too.

However, when building firmware into the kernel, this will no longer be
true, it'll be a simple key in an array.

johannes