linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v2 2/7] Documentation/devices.txt: Mark /dev/oldmem obsolete

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Date:	Tue, 28 May 2013 10:35:23 -0700
From:	"H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>
To:	Rob Landley <rob@...dley.net>
CC:	Zhang Yanfei <zhangyanfei@...fujitsu.com>,
	"kexec@...ts.infradead.org" <kexec@...ts.infradead.org>,
	"linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	HATAYAMA Daisuke <d.hatayama@...fujitsu.com>,
	Simon Horman <horms@...ge.net.au>,
	"Eric W. Biederman" <ebiederm@...ssion.com>,
	Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
	Vivek Goyal <vgoyal@...hat.com>,
	Zhang Yanfei <zhangyanfei.yes@...il.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2 2/7] Documentation/devices.txt: Mark /dev/oldmem obsolete

On 05/28/2013 10:26 AM, Rob Landley wrote:
>>
>> So, could I just use UNSED to replace OBSOLETE here? Or use
>> "OBSOLETE/UNUSED"?
> 
> Obsolete is fine.
> 
> Obsolete means it was used at some point, and thus reusing it might
> confuse or conflcit with legacy software. Unused could just mean that we
> left a gap for some reason, it doesn't imply it ever was used.
> 
> Explicitly documenting "unused" is kind of silly: all the ones we
> _don't_ document are presumably unused. Obsolete carries with it a very
> mild warning about legacy software, which is presumably why we still
> bother to mention it at all instead of just removing the entry.
> 
> (Then again the point was that nothing ever used this interface in the
> first place. Personally I'd just have removed the entry...)
> 

"Obsolete" in this specific context means that the reservation is
obsolete, but was used in kernels past, therefore the name and number
should not be reused to prevent old software from misbehaving.

	-hpa


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