Message-ID: <2026020641-bronze-carded-0b3d@gregkh>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2026 15:31:27 +0100
From: Greg KH <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>
To: Gary Guo <gary@...yguo.net>
Cc: Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@...gle.com>, Danilo Krummrich <dakr@...nel.org>,
	rafael@...nel.org, ojeda@...nel.org, boqun.feng@...il.com,
	bjorn3_gh@...tonmail.com, lossin@...nel.org, a.hindborg@...nel.org,
	tmgross@...ch.edu, driver-core@...ts.linux.dev,
	rust-for-linux@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH 2/5] devres: export devres_node_init() and
 devres_node_add()

On Fri, Feb 06, 2026 at 02:23:44PM +0000, Gary Guo wrote:
> On Fri Feb 6, 2026 at 1:55 PM GMT, Greg KH wrote:
> > On Fri, Feb 06, 2026 at 01:33:53PM +0000, Alice Ryhl wrote:
> >> On Fri, Feb 06, 2026 at 02:22:42PM +0100, Greg KH wrote:
> >> > On Fri, Feb 06, 2026 at 02:16:05PM +0100, Danilo Krummrich wrote:
> >> > > On Fri Feb 6, 2026 at 1:34 PM CET, Greg KH wrote:
> >> > > > That's fine, because the rust driver core code should also be built into
> >> > > > the kernel, not as a module, right?
> >> > > 
> >> > > Yes, but the Rust compiler may still choose to put some of the core code into
> >> > > the module.
> >> > 
> >> > What exactly do you mean by "the module"?
> >> > 
> >> > > Especially with generic types and functions the Rust compiler may move some the
> >> > > generated code for a certain type instance into the module that instanciates the
> >> > > type.
> >> > 
> >> > Ah, that's a mess.  why?  The code lives in the .rs file in the kernel
> >> > core, right?
> >> 
> >> It might still be inlined into downstream compilation units. Rust has no
> >> equivalent to 'static inline' function in a header file, after all.
> >> 
> >> > > For instance, even though rust/kernel/devres.rs is *always* built-in, we get the
> >> > > following error when devres_node_init() is not exported when the users of this
> >> > > built-in code are built as module.
> >> > > 
> >> > > 	ERROR: modpost: "devres_node_init" [drivers/pwm/pwm_th1520.ko] undefined!
> >> > > 	ERROR: modpost: "devres_node_init" [drivers/gpu/drm/tyr/tyr.ko] undefined!
> >> > > 	ERROR: modpost: "devres_node_init" [drivers/gpu/nova-core/nova_core.ko] undefined!
> >> > > 	ERROR: modpost: "devres_node_init" [samples/rust/rust_dma.ko] undefined!
> >> > > 	ERROR: modpost: "devres_node_init" [samples/rust/rust_driver_pci.ko] undefined!
> >> > > 	ERROR: modpost: "devres_node_init" [samples/rust/rust_driver_auxiliary.ko] undefined!
> >> > > 	make[2]: *** [scripts/Makefile.modpost:147: Module.symvers] Error 1
> >> > 
> >> > This feels like a compiler bug, how is the compiler reaching into
> >> > devres.rs and sucking out code to put into the module?  Doesn't the
> >> > build/link boundry stay at the .rs boundry?
> >> 
> >> It's quite intentional.
> >> 
> >> It used to be the case that only functions marked #[inline] could be
> >> inlined like this, but it was changed so that small functions without
> >> any marker are also eligible for inlining. Now you need #[inline(never)]
> >> to ensure it does not happen.
> >> 
> >> Note that this analysis only applies to non-generic code. If you call
> >> devres_node_init() from within this function:
> >> 
> >> impl Devres<T> {
> >>     fn new() -> Self {
> >>         ... devres_node_init() ...
> >>     }
> >> }
> >> 
> >> then since `new()` is generic over T, it is duplicated for each type T
> >> it is used with (via monomorphisation, like C++ templates). So the
> >> actual `new` function might be instantiated in the crate that uses
> >> Devres<MyDriverType>, and in this case it ends up in the module even
> >> with #[inline(never)].
> >> 
> >> So you'd need a non-generic Rust function with #[inline(never)] in this
> >> case, and have Devres::<T>::new() call that function.
> >> 
> >> > > However, sprinkling "raw" EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL() due to that is not great at all.
> >> > > Hence, we could do something like in [1] instead. I don't know if there are
> >> > > other options that may be better though.
> >> > > 
> >> > > [1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/DG7UR3WWZB4V.2MYMJJH1VDHH@kernel.org/
> >> > 
> >> > That's a start, but still messy.  There's no compiler options to prevent
> >> > this "lifting" of the code out of devres.rs?  If not, this is not going
> >> > to be the only problem that drivers run into like this in the future.
> >> 
> >> Because of how monomorphisation, as-is the code actually lives in the
> >> module to begin with.
> >
> > Ok, but again, that is going to cause all sorts of "the symbol is
> > undefined" type of problems going forward as a developers just "assumes"
> > that the place where the symbol is exported will actually have the
> > symbol exported from it, not that this place will be copied inline into
> > somewhere else.
> 
> Note that this won't be an issue for a Rust module to reference a symbol defiend
> in Rust, because everything is EXPORT_SYMBOL_RUST_GPL'd (we use language-builtin
> visibilities to control whether people should access an API or not).

What about module symbol namespaces?

> For APIs intended for general usage inlined through helpers, it is also a
> non-issue because everything is exported already.
> 
> The issue is only when a subsystem wants to export a non-public API for Rust
> abstraction to use. So far we haven't had a need yet, Devres is the first one
> that runs into this.

And this will happen more as we have more bindings from subsystem rust
code that should not be exported directly to modules/drivers to allow
them to access those symbols without going through the rust core.

Also, again, module symbol namespaces will play here, think about a
driver calling a symbol in another driver's namespace, that has within
it a call to a different namespace.  That first driver would then have
to "import" that last namespace, which isn't ok.

thanks,

greg k-h

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