[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]
Message-ID: <20071128204050.GA29463@stusta.de>
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:40:50 +0100
From: Adrian Bunk <bunk@...nel.org>
To: Jeremy Fitzhardinge <jeremy@...p.org>
Cc: Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
Tobias Powalowski <t.powa@....de>,
Takashi Iwai <tiwai@...e.de>,
Christoph Hellwig <hch@...radead.org>,
Zachary Amsden <zach@...are.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] x86/paravirt: revert exports to restore old behaviour
On Tue, Nov 27, 2007 at 02:57:30PM -0800, Jeremy Fitzhardinge wrote:
>...
> Christoph Hellwig objects to this patch on the grounds that modules
> shouldn't be using these operations anyway. I don't think this is a
> particularly good reason to reject the patch, for several reasons:
>
> 1. These operations are still available to modules when not using
> CONFIG_PARAVIRT, since they are implicitly exported as inline
> functions via the kernel headers. Exporting the same functionality as
> GPL-only symbols just adds a gratuitious difference between
> CONFIG_PARAVIRT and non-CONFIG_PARAVIRT configurations. If we really
> think these operations are not for module use (or non-GPL module use),
> then we should solve the problem in a general way.
Current practice in the kernel is that when something that should not be
done works by chance with some kernel versions and/or configurations
that's simply an unfortunate fact that should be fixed but doesn't
result in any guarantee that it works with all kernel versions and/or
configurations.
> 2. It's a regression from previous kernels, which would work these
> modules even with CONFIG_PARAVIRT enabled.
>...
It cannot be a regression since the kernel does not have a stable API
for modules.
> Therefore, I think this patch should go in for 2.6.24. If people
> really think that these operations should not be available to modules,
> then we can address that separately.
>...
Why should we start with one step back for getting two steps ahead?
cu
Adrian
--
"Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
"Only a promise," Lao Er said.
Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed
-
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/
Powered by blists - more mailing lists