[PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst

[PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst

[ᴋᴀʀᴛɪᴋ sʜᴀʜ]

From 56985c72f365c7f0e9ba8ae66ba99c198c15128c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: kartikpro9599-hash <kartikpro9599@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2025 13:53:02 +0530
Subject: [PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst

Signed-off-by: kartikpro9599-hash <kartikpro9599@gmail.com>
---
 Documentation/process/howto.rst | 10 +++++-----
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/process/howto.rst b/Documentation/process/howto.rst
index 9438e03d6..dd840115f 100644
--- a/Documentation/process/howto.rst
+++ b/Documentation/process/howto.rst
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
 HOWTO do Linux kernel development
 =================================

-This is the be-all, end-all document on this topic.  It contains
-instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer and how to learn
-to work with the Linux kernel development community.  It tries to not
-contain anything related to the technical aspects of kernel programming,
-but will help point you in the right direction for that.
+This is a complete introductory document on this topic. It
+contains instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer
+and how to work with the Linux kernel development community. It
+does not cover the technical aspects of kernel programming, but
+will help point you in the right direction for that.

 If anything in this document becomes out of date, please send in patches
 to the maintainer of this file, who is listed at the bottom of the
-- 
2.52.0.windows.1

Re: [PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst

[Randy Dunlap]

On 12/7/25 1:37 AM, ᴋᴀʀᴛɪᴋ sʜᴀʜ wrote:
> From 56985c72f365c7f0e9ba8ae66ba99c198c15128c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> From: kartikpro9599-hash <kartikpro9599@gmail.com>
> Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2025 13:53:02 +0530
> Subject: [PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst
> 

The new text looks good to me. However, each patch should have a patch
description between the Subject: and the Signed-off-by: lines.

See https://docs.kernel.org/process/submitting-patches.html#describe-your-changes
if you need more info on this.

> Signed-off-by: kartikpro9599-hash <kartikpro9599@gmail.com>
> ---
>  Documentation/process/howto.rst | 10 +++++-----
>  1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/process/howto.rst b/Documentation/process/howto.rst
> index 9438e03d6..dd840115f 100644
> --- a/Documentation/process/howto.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/process/howto.rst
> @@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
>  HOWTO do Linux kernel development
>  =================================
> 
> -This is the be-all, end-all document on this topic.  It contains
> -instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer and how to learn
> -to work with the Linux kernel development community.  It tries to not
> -contain anything related to the technical aspects of kernel programming,
> -but will help point you in the right direction for that.
> +This is a complete introductory document on this topic. It
> +contains instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer
> +and how to work with the Linux kernel development community. It
> +does not cover the technical aspects of kernel programming, but
> +will help point you in the right direction for that.
> 
>  If anything in this document becomes out of date, please send in patches
>  to the maintainer of this file, who is listed at the bottom of the

-- 
~Randy

Re: [PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst

[Matthew Wilcox]

On Sun, Dec 07, 2025 at 03:07:43PM +0530, ᴋᴀʀᴛɪᴋ sʜᴀʜ wrote:
> -This is the be-all, end-all document on this topic.  It contains
> -instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer and how to learn
> -to work with the Linux kernel development community.  It tries to not
> -contain anything related to the technical aspects of kernel programming,
> -but will help point you in the right direction for that.
> +This is a complete introductory document on this topic. It
> +contains instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer
> +and how to work with the Linux kernel development community. It
> +does not cover the technical aspects of kernel programming, but
> +will help point you in the right direction for that.

I'd suggest following https://sembr.org/ for this paragraph since you're
editing it.  Don't go through and change the whole document.

Also, it is "the" complete document, not "a" complete document.

Re: [PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst

[Bagas Sanjaya]

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On Sun, Dec 07, 2025 at 03:07:43PM +0530, ᴋᴀʀᴛɪᴋ sʜᴀʜ wrote:
> >From 56985c72f365c7f0e9ba8ae66ba99c198c15128c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> From: kartikpro9599-hash <kartikpro9599@gmail.com>
> Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2025 13:53:02 +0530
> Subject: [PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst
> 
> Signed-off-by: kartikpro9599-hash <kartikpro9599@gmail.com>

Please add patch description and also make sure that From: and Signed-off-by:
identities match (or pass --from to git-format-patch(1) if it isn't the case).

> -This is the be-all, end-all document on this topic.  It contains
> -instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer and how to learn
> -to work with the Linux kernel development community.  It tries to not
> -contain anything related to the technical aspects of kernel programming,
> -but will help point you in the right direction for that.
> +This is a complete introductory document on this topic. It
> +contains instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer
> +and how to work with the Linux kernel development community. It
> +does not cover the technical aspects of kernel programming, but
> +will help point you in the right direction for that.

So basically s/be-all, end-all/a complete/, right?

Thanks.

-- 
An old man doll... just what I always wanted! - Clara

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Re: [PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst

[Jonathan Corbet]

ᴋᴀʀᴛɪᴋ sʜᴀʜ <kartikpro9599@gmail.com> writes:

> From 56985c72f365c7f0e9ba8ae66ba99c198c15128c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> From: kartikpro9599-hash <kartikpro9599@gmail.com>
> Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2025 13:53:02 +0530
> Subject: [PATCH v4] docs: improve introduction wording in howto.rst
>
> Signed-off-by: kartikpro9599-hash <kartikpro9599@gmail.com>
> ---
>  Documentation/process/howto.rst | 10 +++++-----
>  1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

Please copy the documentation maintainer (me) on patches like this.

So what is the purpose of this change - how does it make the kernel
better?

> diff --git a/Documentation/process/howto.rst b/Documentation/process/howto.rst
> index 9438e03d6..dd840115f 100644
> --- a/Documentation/process/howto.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/process/howto.rst
> @@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
>  HOWTO do Linux kernel development
>  =================================
>
> -This is the be-all, end-all document on this topic.  It contains
> -instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer and how to learn
> -to work with the Linux kernel development community.  It tries to not
> -contain anything related to the technical aspects of kernel programming,
> -but will help point you in the right direction for that.
> +This is a complete introductory document on this topic. It

Is it really complete?  I would argue that none of our documentation is
truly complete...  the original text is not great, but this is not
necessarily better.

> +contains instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer
> +and how to work with the Linux kernel development community. It
> +does not cover the technical aspects of kernel programming, but
> +will help point you in the right direction for that.

Thanks,

jon