linux-kernel - Re: modules, "modules" and CONFIG_LIST

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Date:	Sun, 7 Mar 2010 03:23:34 -0800 (PST)
From:	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:	Alexey Dobriyan <adobriyan@...il.com>
cc:	don.mullis@...il.com, david@...morbit.com,
	akpm@...ux-foundation.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: modules, "modules" and CONFIG_LIST_SORT

On Sun, 7 Mar 2010, Alexey Dobriyan wrote:
> 
> Unpleasant side effect of the change is that some modules stop being
> true modules, i. e. admin is unable to start using them without reboot
> if kernel was compiled without that tiny amount of core kernel.
> 
> Having used this feature several times, I think it'd be correct
> to preserve this behaviour, at least not regress for those modules
> which benefitted from it. For modules which were always "modules" (ipv6)
> it's fine to continue.
> 
> Can we declare some policy about it?
> 
> And revert LIST_SORT commit if yes.

Yeah, I think that in cases like this, you have a very good argument: 
LIST_SORT enables code that isn't that large, and is clearly very generic.

And changing the config later and trying to compile and install a module 
is rather sane. And if that new module needs LIST_SORT, you're screwed 
because it didn't get compiled in originally.

Honestly, personally I'd rather have a real library that modules can link 
to _before_ even loading into kernel space, but that's not how we've 
traditionally done things. So I guess we should just revert that commit.

		Linus
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