From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from 1wt.eu (ded1.1wt.eu [163.172.96.212]) by smtp.subspace.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C416E1494A0; Tue, 20 Aug 2024 18:30:39 +0000 (UTC) Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; arc=none smtp.client-ip=163.172.96.212 ARC-Seal:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1724178643; cv=none; b=IGXHYer9mH9XHWxsUtdV4irvoRYzZgOa51SJPy0IKmXaynHkjX/O6/m8M9wGyCZO4ZGgxS3/0JVigq/oebQj6XJCm4ADAz9RQgGJ57ymRDYUh4JWhNYCwWAKMwhS6DoeCJ0WU6TDCstc0HDOtFY8iVzA13Zwi4ScTQ72CT0HB5k= ARC-Message-Signature:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1724178643; c=relaxed/simple; bh=anCgAaHfG8Tm61jyfGeIZ8qm77ntivfuE4rHccrGIu4=; h=Date:From:To:Cc:Subject:Message-ID:References:MIME-Version: Content-Type:Content-Disposition:In-Reply-To; b=e2wujZmaM+yspC+SdyXl5CWK9PHxedkMnh05FmCPDaih/KRn9Quglx2kwIu0fx7gBV4M/ifusEJHm9AeXsEfamMmYQTkCvI5lh4fyEA8bJw24wbTnJI9/JUdAOXP10Uo58kwO9ta8fSoQT3z9qErOx1ojGWGoQhchSiHDQOLgEw= ARC-Authentication-Results:i=1; smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=none (p=none dis=none) header.from=1wt.eu; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=1wt.eu; arc=none smtp.client-ip=163.172.96.212 Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=none (p=none dis=none) header.from=1wt.eu Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=1wt.eu Received: (from willy@localhost) by mail.home.local (8.17.1/8.17.1/Submit) id 47KIUTnC017648; Tue, 20 Aug 2024 20:30:29 +0200 Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2024 20:30:29 +0200 From: Willy Tarreau To: Miao Wang Cc: Greg Kroah-Hartman , Xi Ruoyao , Huacai Chen , loongarch@lists.linux.dev, Sasha Levin , stable@vger.kernel.org, WANG Xuerui , linux-api@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: It is correct to introduce new sys calls to stable versions? Message-ID: References: <2024082057-coherence-lethargy-3513@gregkh> <2024082027-deskbound-rumbling-b96f@gregkh> <46C6EB05-1AA2-42BF-82BF-3B99CCA57439@gmail.com> Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: linux-api@vger.kernel.org List-Id: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <46C6EB05-1AA2-42BF-82BF-3B99CCA57439@gmail.com> On Wed, Aug 21, 2024 at 12:09:41AM +0800, Miao Wang wrote: > However, my original question is whether it is expected to include new > syscalls in kernel stable tree. According to the document "stable-kernel- > rules", if I'm interpreting it correctly, I expect only bug fixes and small > driver enhancements from stable releases. I understand the patch in question > is actually introducing new syscalls, which is beyond my expectation. So I > wonder the consideration of including this patch in stable releases. When you maintain stable software you quickly realize that everything is not just pure white or black but a shade of gray and that if it can be considered as a bug to miss a syscall in certain environments for example, then it can become a valid fix to add it. I don't have any opinion on this particular one, but since your question is broader I'm trying to explain. Different people have different expectations about what needs to be fixed, that's even why some people will choose a distro over another one (prefer to fix only critical bugs over fixing all bugs for example), but there's no point restarting a philosophical on this topic which has already been rehashed too many times in the past. As a rule of thumb, just keep in mind that anything that needs to get fix will eventually be fixed. Thanks, Willy