linux-kernel - Re: Follow-up on Linux-kernel code accessibility

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Message-ID: <20251229235010.GA83368@macsyma.local>
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2025 18:50:10 -0500
From: "Theodore Tso" <tytso@....edu>
To: "Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...nel.org>
Cc: "Dr. David Alan Gilbert" <dave@...blig.org>,
        Steven Rostedt <rostedt@...dmis.org>,
        Julia Lawall <julia.lawall@...ia.fr>, Sasha Levin <sashal@...nel.org>,
        Gabriele Paoloni <gpaoloni@...hat.com>,
        Kate Stewart <kstewart@...uxfoundation.org>,
        Chuck Wolber <chuckwolber@...il.com>,
        Dmitry Vyukov <dvyukov@...gle.com>,
        Mark Rutland <mark.rutland@....com>,
        Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
        Lorenzo Stoakes <lorenzo.stoakes@...cle.com>,
        Shuah Khan <skhan@...uxfoundation.org>, Chris Mason <clm@...a.com>,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: Follow-up on Linux-kernel code accessibility

On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 10:59:12AM -0800, Paul E. McKenney wrote:
> > Or do they actually feel like improving RCU.
> > If they actually want to improve RCU then sure the prerequisities
> > involve reading every reasonable piece of RCU docs; but in the other
> > cases?  Don't make it too hard.
> 
> I only get 24 hours in each day, my friend.  Experience has shown that
> there are way more people struggling with code using RCU than with code
> implementing RCU, so the former get priority.  I could hit you with a
> Spock quote from a certain movie, if you would like.  ;-)

,.. and that's why I was recalling the comment, "You are not expected
to understand this" and asking the question of which audience are we
trying to make the code more accessible for, at least first.

Yes, it would be good if there were more than one person who can
understand the details of the code and who can maintain it, so we
don't have teh bus factor == 1 problem.  But the fact remains that are
many parts of the kernel that I will freely admit that I have no
*clue* how it work, and that's OK.  I'm sure if I spent a few weeks
deeply meditating on the code, I could eventually figure it out ---
but I don't have that kind of spare time.  Nor am I someone who is
going to insist on a lot of documentation of internal details, since I
happen to believe, like you, that accessibility to *users* of RCU is
more important that people who are curious about the internal details
about why we are dividing by 3, and not 4 (and 5 is right out) :-)

     	     	 	     	    	  - Ted

P.S.  If someone wants to spend time being the John Lions for RCU,
great!  But that should be someone's passion project, and not
necessarily highest priority for the community at large.