Re: [PATCH v5 1/10] fs: Add new flag(FALLOC_FL_COLLAPSE_RANGE) for fallocate

Hugh Dickins
2014-02-25T23:42:08Z

On Mon, 24 Feb 2014, Dave Chinner wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 09:06:25AM -0500, Theodore Ts'o wrote:
> > On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 01:37:43AM +0900, Namjae Jeon wrote:
> > > + /*
> > > + * There is no need to overlap collapse range with EOF, in which case
> > > + * it is effectively a truncate operation
> > > + */
> > > + if ((mode & FALLOC_FL_COLLAPSE_RANGE) &&
> > > + (offset + len >= i_size_read(inode)))
> > > + return -EINVAL;
> > > +
> >
> > I wonder if we should just translate a collapse range that is
> > equivalent to a truncate operation to, in fact, be a truncate
> > operation?
>
> Trying to collapse a range that extends beyond EOF, IMO, is likely
> to only happen if the DVR/NLE application is buggy. Hence I think
> that telling the application it is doing something that is likely to
> be wrong is better than silently truncating the file....

I do agree with Ted on this point. This is not an xfs ioctl added
for one DVR/NLE application, it's a mode of a Linux system call.

We do not usually reject with an error when one system call happens
to ask for something which can already be accomplished another way;
nor nanny our callers.

It seems natural to me that COLLAPSE_RANGE should support beyond EOF;
unless that adds significantly to implementation difficulties?

Actually, is it even correct to fail at EOF? What if fallocation
with FALLOC_FL_KEEP_SIZE was used earlier, to allocate beyond EOF:
shouldn't it be possible to shift that allocation down, along with
the EOF, rather than leave it behind as a stranded island?