linux-kernel - Re: [mingo@...e.hu: [git pull] headers

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Message-ID: <497FAE97.6020703@zytor.com>
Date:	Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:02:15 -0800
From:	"H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>
To:	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
CC:	Ingo Molnar <mingo@...e.hu>,
	Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
	Sam Ravnborg <sam@...nborg.org>,
	Jaswinder Singh Rajput <jaswinderrajput@...il.com>,
	"David S. Miller" <davem@...emloft.net>
Subject: Re: [mingo@...e.hu: [git pull] headers_check fixes]

Linus Torvalds wrote:
>>>
>> This is probably true.  I think we should add this as one more of the
>> preprocessing rules which we really should just do, as well as automatic
>> mangling of integer types.
> 
> Btw, the really scary thing is that I bet there are programs out there 
> that "know" about kernel internals, and do things like
> 
> 	#define CONFIG_SMP 1
> 	#define __KERNEL__ 1
> 	#include <asm/atomic.h>
> 
> in order to get the atomic helpers from the kernel, and using CONFIG_xyz 
> markers to force the exact version they want.
> 
> And we will inevitably always end up breaking stuff like that. Nothing we 
> can do about it - in the end, users can do infinitely odd things and know 
> about our internals, and whatever changes we do will occasionally break 
> some of the more incestuous code.
> 

Yes, that's just PEBKAC.

	-hpa

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