Re: [PATCH/RFC v2 2/4] Use 'lstat_cache()' instead of 'has_symlink_leading_path()'

[Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>]

On Tue, 6 Jan 2009, Kjetil Barvik wrote:
?
> Start using the optimised, faster and more effective symlink/directory
> cache.  The previously used call:
> 
>    has_symlink_leading_path(len, name);
> 
> should be identically with the following call to lstat_cache():
> 
>    lstat_cache(len, name,
>                LSTAT_SYMLINK|LSTAT_DIR,
>                LSTAT_SYMLINK);

I think the new interface looks worse.

Why don't you just do a new inline function that says

	static inline int has_symlink_leading_path(int len, const char *name)
	{
		return lstat_cache(len, name,
			LSTAT_SYMLINK|LSTAT_DIR,
			LSTAT_SYMLINK);
	}

and now you don't need this big patch, and people who don't care about 
those magic flags don't need to have them. End result: more readable code.

Then, the new users that want _new_ semantics can use the extended 
version.

This is how git has done pretty much all "generalized" versions. See the 
whole ce_modified() vs ie_modified() thing: they're the same function, 
it's just that 'ce_modified()' is the traditional simpler interface that 
works on the default index, while ie_modified() is the "full" version that 
takes all the details that most uses don't even want to know about.

				Linus