linux-kernel - Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH RFC] xen-block: correctly define structures in public headers

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: <20131203155153.2b5488d2@alan.etchedpixels.co.uk>
Date:	Tue, 3 Dec 2013 15:51:53 +0000
From:	One Thousand Gnomes <gnomes@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk>
To:	Ian Campbell <Ian.Campbell@...rix.com>
Cc:	David Vrabel <david.vrabel@...rix.com>,
	Roger Pau Monne <roger.pau@...rix.com>,
	Stefano Stabellini <stefano.stabellini@...citrix.com>,
	Julien Grall <julien.grall@...aro.org>,
	<linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>, <xen-devel@...ts.xenproject.org>,
	"Boris Ostrovsky" <boris.ostrovsky@...cle.com>
Subject: Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH RFC] xen-block: correctly define structures
 in public headers

> > If Konrad and Boris agree that breaking the kernel's ABI in this way is
> > acceptable in this specific case, I'll defer to them.
> 
> My opinion as Xen on ARM hypervisor maintainer is that this is the right
> thing to do in this case.

Sounds to me like the difference between "product" and "research toy".
You don't break back compatibility in a product when you can avoid it.
You may wish the publically humiliate those responsible (Linus seems to)
but at the end of the day it's done.

Your boolean choice is a false one anyway - you can do at least three
different things

- Implement and tell people to use the new API, break everyone's PoC and
  deployed systems, prevent old kernels running on newer Xen and
  generally make users lose confidence in it

- Keep the erroneous API and live with the uglies

- Keep the erroneous API working but implement a new clean API (and
  possibly make misuse produce a one per boot whine about fixing your
  kernel)

The Linux approach has tended to be the last one most of the time,
coupled with Linus having a rant 8)

Alan
--
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/