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diff --git a/source/documentation/backports/hacking/todo.rst b/source/documentation/backports/hacking/todo.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..07244b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/source/documentation/backports/hacking/todo.rst @@ -0,0 +1,120 @@ +Documentation/backports/hacking/todo +==================================== + +The Linux kernel backports TODO list. + +make localmodconfig support +--------------------------- + +The Linux kernel has *make localmodconfig* support, random users +shouldn't be expected to know what modules they need, so in order to +allow users to get only the drivers they need built we'd need something +similar to *make localmodconfig*. There are a few ways to do this. The +best way would be to get upstream a mapping of a kernel object of a +device to list its respective Kconfig. We'd also need a map of Kconfig +changes over time as the kernel advances so that if a user is on an +older system their old kobject Kconfig could be mapped to a new one. +This should require changes upstream. + +Other simpler solutions are to rely on 'lspci -k' output and map this to +respective device drivers but this solution would be PCI bus specific. +We should review how the upstream *make localmodconfig* currently works +and improve upon that to enable support for it on backports. + +Who's working on this? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +No one. + +Module namespaces +----------------- + +Module namespace can consist of either adding prefixes to existing +symbols or modifying the Linux kernel module data structure so that upon +request for a symbol it's own namespace can be inspected for its +requested namespace. The Linux kernel backports project embraces +prefixing backported versions of symbols by prefixing backported +versions of symbols with *backports\_*. A macro LINUX_BACKPORT() was +added to help with this. For example:: + + #define crc8 LINUX_BACKPORT(crc8) + +Andi Kleen introduced the modular structure modification version of +`module namespaces +<http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.network/78674>`__ back in 2007 but +`Rusty Russell nacked these patches +<http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/606885>`__. Because of this +we're left with remapping modules to their own namespaces without +modifying the in-kernel module structure. It **may** be possible to +somehow provide module namespaces without requiring modifications to the +in-kernel module structure, but such mechanisms would end up being +hacks. We need to evaluate if we can figure a clever way to support this +that is not so error prone or if we want to respinning Andi's patches +with the intent to help support kernel backporting. + +Original motivation for module namespaces +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Here's a brain dump from Andi about the original motivation behind +module namespaces: + +The original intent was to provide a cleaner export symbol API. + +There are roughly two classes of exported symbols: + +- Generally usable, well designed, interfaces intended to be used by + multiple modules (e.g. functions for drivers to register themselves or + library functions) +- Special purpose exports that are only really for a single module, but + are not intended as a general interface. These interfaces are usually + not really clean and reusable. + +The idea was to mark the later special purpose exports with the name of +the module that is supposed to them. They wouldn't be available to +everybody else and wouldn't become part of the general kernel module +API. + +Motivations +~~~~~~~~~~~ + +At times Linux distributions may choose, for whatever support-nightmare +reasons, to support two versions of a subsystem module and have two +separate device drivers use a different version of that subsystem. The +reason this is ill-advised is we stand to gain by having development +done on the upstream and latest versions of each subsystem and drivers; +that backports framework allows you to get that. An example helps to +clarify here. Suppose a distribution wants to ship with an old version +of mac80211 and have the iwlwifi driver use it, but for ath9k they'd +want to ship the newer version of mac80211 and new version of ath9k. +This cannot be supported unless module namespaces are created. + +Another more reasonable motivation is to avoid regressions with features +/ symbols being updated only for backported drivers. Non-backported +drivers will use the non-backported version of the routine. This should +avoid regressions with non-backported drivers using these routines. + +Who's working on this? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +No one. + +DKMS support +------------ + +Someone seems to want add support for `DKMS +<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Kernel_Module_Support>`__. Who +was that? What benefits does this bring? Isn't DKMS for proprietary +modules? If so we don't want this support. We don't want proprietary +drivers using the Linux kernel backports framework. + +DKMS is for proprietary modules only because all proprietary modules are +out-of-tree, and DKMS is for all out-of-tree modules, whether they are +proprietary or not. Since Linux kernel backports are out-of-tree, DKMS +brings the benefit of automagically keeping existing backports active +when a new kernel is installed, rather than going back to the in-tree +modules with every new kernel. + +Who's working on this? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +No one |