Re: [PATCH 0/59] Cleanup sysctl

H. Peter Anvin
2007-01-16T18:58:46Z

Eric W. Biederman wrote:
>>>
>> With "architectural" I mean "guaranteed to be stable" (as opposed to
>> "incidental"). Sorry for the confusion.
>
> Ok. Then largely we are in agreement. To implement that the rule is simple.
> If it isn't CTL_UNNUMBERED and the number is in Linus's tree, it is
> our responsibility to never change the meaning of that number.
>
> If a new sysctl entry is introduced it should be CTL_UNNUMBERED until
> it reaches Linus's tree to avoid conflicts.
>
> There is simply no point in having any kind of support for numbers
> whose meanings can change.
>
> Which is why I removed the few cases of binary number duplication I
> found.
>

Agreed. *Furthermore*, if the number isn't in <linux/sysctl.h> it
shouldn't exist anywhere else, either.

-hpa