linux-kernel - Re: Looking for configuration-dependent bugs in Linux

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Date:	Tue, 22 Oct 2013 10:25:53 +0200
From:	Geert Uytterhoeven <geert@...ux-m68k.org>
To:	Iago Abal <mail@...oabal.eu>
Cc:	"linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	Iago Abal <iari@....dk>
Subject: Re: Looking for configuration-dependent bugs in Linux

On Mon, Oct 21, 2013 at 12:49 PM, Iago Abal <mail@...oabal.eu> wrote:
> We are currently looking for already-fixed configuration-dependent
> bugs in Linux ---the bugfix helps us to understand the underlying
> cause. A good example is [2], which fixes a bug that only shows up in
> PA-RISC architectures when DISCONTIGMEM is enabled. Any bug appearing
> in some configurations but not in others is interesting for us (e.g. a
> bug affecting PowerPC only), even though the more complex the
> interaction between configuration options the more interesting is the
> bug for our purpose.
>
> As a Linux kernel developer, could you:
>
> * remember any configuration-dependent bug?
> * identify any subset of configuration options that tend to interact badly?
> * spot any part of the kernel more prone to configuration-dependent bugs?

>From the top of my head and a little bit of git log:

  * Missing includes, due to indirect inclusion on some platforms.
    Typically one of:
        <linux/slab.h>
        <linux/prefetch.h>
        <linux/of.h>
        <linux/irqreturn.h>
        <linux/uaccess.h>
        <linux/err.h>
  * Missing/broken code/dependencies on platforms where some popular
    config options are not set.
    Typically one of:
        CONFIG_SMP
        CONFIG_PM
        CONFIG_PCI
        CONFIG_HAS_DMA

Gr{oetje,eeting}s,

                        Geert

--
Geert Uytterhoeven -- There's lots of Linux beyond ia32 -- geert@...ux-m68k.org

In personal conversations with technical people, I call myself a hacker. But
when I'm talking to journalists I just say "programmer" or something like that.
                                -- Linus Torvalds
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