Re: PATCH 2.5.2.9: ext2 unbork fs.h (part 1/7)

[Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@mandrakesoft.com>]

Alexander Viro wrote:
> Now, the problems I see with Jeff's variant:
> 
> a) if you make struct inode a part of ext2_inode - WTF bother with pointer?

You mean the typed pointer inside struct inode's union?  Because I
needed a way to go from struct inode to struct ext2_inode_info,
-without- a nasty cast.  inode->u.ext2_ip maintains the type information
without resorting to a nastier solution like an OFFSET_OF macro. 
Suggestions for improvement welcome.


> b) ->destroy_inode() / ->clear_inode().  Merge them - that way it's one
> method.

Agreed.  That would be [not yet written] patch8 in my plan.


> c) get_empty_inode() must die.  Make it new_inode() and be done with that.
> And have socket.c explicitly set ->i_dev to NODEV afterwards.

In my patch get_empty_inode and new_inode are completely identical. 
This is easy.


> d) ext2/balloc.c cleanup probably should be merged before.

I don't have an opinion on this one way or the other...


> I can live with "maintain refcounts in common part and leave allocation/freeing
> to filesystem".  It's definitely better than allocating/freeing opaque objects
> in VFS using numeric fields in fs_type.

Yes... the opacity factor in the other patch bothers me.


> We will need to set very strict rules on passing around/storing pointers to
> ext2_inode and its ilk, though.  There will be bugs when somebody just decides
> that keeping such pointers might be a good idea and forgets to be nice with
> ->i_count.  Or decrement it manually instead of calling iput(), etc.

Not doing so now is a shoot-on-sight offense, I thought...

	Jeff


-- 
Jeff Garzik      | Alternate titles for LOTR:
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