linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH RFC] struct list

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Message-ID: <alpine.LFD.0.98.0706101013420.20321@woody.linux-foundation.org>
Date:	Sun, 10 Jun 2007 10:20:20 -0700 (PDT)
From:	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:	Rusty Russell <rusty@...tcorp.com.au>
cc:	lkml - Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH RFC] struct list_node

On Sun, 10 Jun 2007, Rusty Russell wrote:
>
> The current list.h has the same type for list elements and list heads
> even though most code and coders treat them as distinct.

I think the old list.h is technically superior to yours.

Exactly *because* nodes and heads are interchangeable.

In fact, you are incorrect that "most code" treat them as distinct. Most 
code that uses list.h in fact uses it as a list of entries, often without 
any head at all (and each *entry* is a point of removal), because the way 
to actually *find* the structure that contains the lists is separate from 
the lists themselves.

In other words, I think your patch is HORRIBLY BAD, because it totally 
obscures the beauty of the current list.h implementation, and makes it be 
something *average*.

The Linux kernel list.h is _better_ than most stupid list implementations 
that think that a head node is different from the list node. Exactly 
because it very naturally supports the notion of "this structure exists in 
a 'ring of entries'" where each node is 100% equivalent to any other node, 
and there _is_ no head.

And your patch totally misunderstands that, and breaks it.

Nack.

		Linus
-
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/