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+A translator is simply a normal program acting as
+an object server and participating in the Hurd's
+distributed [[VirtualFileSystem]].  It is so-called
+because it typically exports a file system
+(although need not: cf. [[auth]], [[proc]]
+and [[pfinet]]) and thus translates object invocations
+into calls appropriate for the backing store
+(e.g., ext2 file system, nfs server, etc.).
+
+Translators do not require any special privilege
+to run.  The privilege they require is simply
+that to access the indiviudal resources they use.
+This is primarily the backing store and the node
+they attach to.  Typically, a translator can
+only be attached to a node by the node's owner.
+On Unix this is not possible because file systems
+and the virtual file system are implemented in the
+kernel and thus have absolute access to the machine.
+As the protocols do not require any special privilege
+to implement, this is not an issue on the Hurd.
+
+See [[Translators]] for a list of Hurd translators.
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