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Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 22:10:43 -0500 From: "James Dickens" <jamesd.wi@...il.com> To: lkml <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org> Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/11] LTTng-core (basic tracing infrastructure) 0.5.108 Static probe points in the mainline kernel should not be there for kernel programmers. Any kernel programmer that is interested in an event that a static probe would trace, could with a little work use kprobes, Systemtap, printk, statements or numerous other methods and accomplish the same thing most likely with less impact on the kernel. If you allow static probe points, do them for the people that use your code, If static probing is to work in the mainline kernel, its necessary for everyone to see the value of them. I came up with some simple rules that may help the adoption of static probe points in the kernel. They answer a lot of issues I read in other reads. Some simple rules for Static Probing: - If the probe is not enabled, it turns into a NOP. No probes are enabled by default - Each programmer should provide this as a service to the user. - There should be at most a 1000 static probe points in the entire kernel including modules, drivers, etc. - Probes should not pass out any more information than what a user would need. If the user needs more he needs to find another way to get it, perhaps dynamic probing. - If any part of the kernel has more than a dozen probe points there are too many. - If a probe would be of little use to a user/sysadmin it should be removed from the mainline kernel. - Yes, if a probe point is in the code you are working on, the role of maintaining it falls on you. - If you notice your code is doing something that matches a statically probed event (.i.e. your network driver dropped a packet), it's your responsibility to add the necessary probe in your code. - If "you" need a probe that would not be needed except for debugging your code, use one of the other methods mentioned above, or remove it before your code is submitted to the mainline kernel. Some example static probe points Task going is being moved on to a cpu. Task moving off a cpu Start of an IO End of an IO Network packet received Packet dropped. Various lock activities Lock taken Spin lock taken James Dickens uadmin.blogspot.com - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
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