Identifying the initial bug within the x86 architecture subsystem

Identifying the initial bug within the x86 architecture subsystem

[Dileep Sankhla]

Hello,

I am new to Linux kernel development and have a keen interest in the
x86 architecture subsystem, particularly in the areas of boot and
feature flags. Before diving into adding or changing features, I would
like to address a few existing bugs. I am good in C and have some
knowledge of assembly language.

Last night, I dedicated time to go through bugs on Bugzilla (see [1]),
considering their priorities but I could not figure out which one to
pick. While I found only a couple of bugs with the latest modification
date, I lack the same hardware as the original poster (OP) to
reproduce and fix those bugs. How can I identify the first bug in this
subsystem? Given the relatively low number of bugs, should I consider
reaching out to the maintainer of `arch/x86/boot` if I cannot find a
suitable one to fix?

P.S. I have one commit in the kernel from 2018 (see [2]) , but it was
merely addressing a `checkpatch.pl` warning.

Regards,
Dileep

[1]: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/buglist.cgi?bug_severity=blocking&bug_severity=high&bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&component=i386&component=x86-64&descending=on&longdesc=boot%2Cfeature%20flags&longdesc_type=anywordssubstr&order=changeddate%20DESC%2Cpriority%20DESC%2Cbug_severity&priority=P1&priority=P2&priority=P3&product=Platform%20Specific%2FHardware&query_format=advanced&rep_platform=Intel&rep_platform=i386&rep_platform=x86-64

[2]: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=b79f3f68cc306637b88072804396685dc037c779

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Re: Identifying the initial bug within the x86 architecture subsystem

[Greg KH]

On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 11:12:57AM +0530, Dileep Sankhla wrote:
> Last night, I dedicated time to go through bugs on Bugzilla (see [1]),
> considering their priorities but I could not figure out which one to
> pick. While I found only a couple of bugs with the latest modification
> date, I lack the same hardware as the original poster (OP) to
> reproduce and fix those bugs. How can I identify the first bug in this
> subsystem? Given the relatively low number of bugs, should I consider
> reaching out to the maintainer of `arch/x86/boot` if I cannot find a
> suitable one to fix?

What do you mean by "first bug"?  Why does the location in an
arbitrary list matter?

Also, bugzilla is not used by many kernel subsystems, so perhaps the
items there just aren't relevant for this one either?

good luck!

greg k-h

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Re: Identifying the initial bug within the x86 architecture subsystem

[Dileep Sankhla]

On Wed, Jan 3, 2024 at 12:33 PM Greg KH <greg@kroah.com> wrote:
> What do you mean by "first bug"?  Why does the location in an
> arbitrary list matter?

Hello Greg,

From "first bug" I meant the initial bug for me to solve under this subsystem.

> Also, bugzilla is not used by many kernel subsystems, so perhaps the
> items there just aren't relevant for this one either?

I looked for the bugs in the subsystem's mailing list but did not find
anything beginning with the subject line "PROBLEM: ".

Following is the query I used in the lkml's archive mirror (see [1]):

subsystem: x86 architecture (32-bit and 64-bit)

query: s:"PROBLEM: " + t:tglx@linutronix.de + t:mingo@redhat.com +
t:bp@alien8.de + t:dave.hansen@linux.intel.com + t:x86@kernel.org +
c:linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org

Regards,
Dileep

[1]: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/

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Re: Identifying the initial bug within the x86 architecture subsystem

[Greg KH]

On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 03:23:13PM +0530, Dileep Sankhla wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 3, 2024 at 12:33 PM Greg KH <greg@kroah.com> wrote:
> > What do you mean by "first bug"?  Why does the location in an
> > arbitrary list matter?
> 
> Hello Greg,
> 
> >From "first bug" I meant the initial bug for me to solve under this subsystem.
> 
> > Also, bugzilla is not used by many kernel subsystems, so perhaps the
> > items there just aren't relevant for this one either?
> 
> I looked for the bugs in the subsystem's mailing list but did not find
> anything beginning with the subject line "PROBLEM: ".

I have never seen a bug report for the kernel come in with that in the
subject line, sorry.  So that would be one reason why you might not find
anything.

And maybe there are no x86-specific bugs at the moment?  Try running
linux-next and see if you have any issues with any subsystem, if so, try
working on that.

good luck!

greg k-h

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Re: Identifying the initial bug within the x86 architecture subsystem

[Dileep Sankhla]

On Wed, Jan 3, 2024 at 3:28 PM Greg KH <greg@kroah.com> wrote:
> And maybe there are no x86-specific bugs at the moment?

Yes, I think so.

>Try running linux-next and see if you have any issues with any subsystem, if so, try
> working on that.

 Sure, I will try it next.

Regards,
Dileep

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