Re: [PATCH] net/ipv4/*, net/core/neighbour.c jiffies cleanup

["David S. Miller" <davem@redhat.com>]

   From: Tim Schmielau <tim@physik3.uni-rostock.de>
   Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 01:58:45 +0100 (CET)

   Please consider to change the appended ones.
   
   --- linux-2.4.14/net/ipv4/route.c	Wed Oct 31 00:08:12 2001
   +++ linux-2.4.14-jiffies64/net/ipv4/route.c	Wed Nov  7 22:51:23 2001
   @@ -395,7 +395,7 @@
    		write_unlock(&rt_hash_table[i].lock);
   
    		/* Fallback loop breaker. */
   -		if ((jiffies - now) > 0)
   +		if ((long)(jiffies - now) > 0)
    			break;
    	}
    	rover = i;

Nothing is wrong with this case.  Jiffies is guarenteed to be greater
than or equal to "now".  There is no need to cast it to a signed type.

Let me say this again, in another way :-)

	SOME_WRAPPED_AROUND_SMALL_VALUE

	MINUS

	SOME_HUGE_ABOUT_TO_WRAP_AROUND_VALUE

will have the same result, signed or not.  Check this out!

(gdb) p (long)0x2 - (long)0xfffffff8
$1 = 10
(gdb) p (unsigned long)0x2 - (unsigned long)0xfffffff8
$2 = 10

It's math and the computer comfirms it! :-)))

Please show me a failure case for this statement if you disagree
with me.

   --- linux-2.4.14/net/ipv4/ipconfig.c	Wed Oct 31 00:08:12 2001
   +++ linux-2.4.14-jiffies64/net/ipv4/ipconfig.c	Wed Nov  7 23:28:47 2001

These cases are indeed buggy.  I'd rather fix these ones with
time_{after,before}() though.  And again, your "signed" casts
are totally superfluous.

Franks a lot,
David S. Miller
davem@redhat.com