Re: Tracepoint project: draft timeline for feedback

[Julia Lawall <julia.lawall@inria.fr>]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2026, Temitope obabi wrote:

> Hi Steven and Julian,
>
> As part of my Outreachy application, I need a project timeline for
> removing unused tracepoints. Here is my draft, based on the patches I
> have sent so far (assuming about 12 weeks):
>
> Weeks 1-2: Set up the kernel build with tracing enabled. List candidate
> tracepoints by checking which definitions have no callers. Choose the
> first subsystems to work on, and ask you which ones you prefer.
>
> Weeks 3-5: Send removal patches in small batches, one subsystem at a
> time. For each one, check the callers and search lore for duplicates
> first. Then build, run checkpatch, send to the maintainers from
> get_maintainer, and Cc you and the Outreachy list.
>
> Weeks 6-8: Handle review feedback and send v2 or v3 as needed. Keep a
> list of what is sent, accepted or waiting, and follow up politely on
> patches with no reply.
>
> Weeks 9-10: Take on harder cases, such as tracepoints that look unused
> but might be used by tools like trace-cmd or perf. Ask Steven before
> removing anything unclear.
>
> Weeks 11-12: Follow up on unmerged patches, update the status list, and
> write the final report.
>
> Do you think this is realistic? Is there anything you would add, remove
> or change?

A small detail is that after the application period is over, this list
goes quiet.  No need to send patches here.

julia

>
> Thank you,
> Temitope
>