Re: Digest message 28, subject: 2.4.14-pre6

Re: Digest message 28, subject: 2.4.14-pre6

[Brad Chapman]

Everyone,

--- linux-kernel-digest-request@lists.us.dell.com wrote:
> Today's Topics:
>
>   28. Re: 2.4.14-pre6 (Linus Torvalds)
>
>--__--__--
>
> Message: 28
> Date:   Wed, 31 Oct 2001 11:38:44 -0800 (PST)
> From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>
> To: Michael Peddemors <michael@wizard.ca>
> CC: Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
> Subject: Re: 2.4.14-pre6
>
>
> On 31 Oct 2001, Michael Peddemors wrote:
>
>> Lets' let this testing cycle go a little longer before making any
>> changes.. Let developers catch up..
>
> My not-so-cunning plan is actually to try to figure out the big problems
> now, then release a reasonable 2.4.14, and then just stop for a while,
> refusing to take new features.
>
> Then, 2.4.15 would be the point where I start 2.5.x, and where Alan gets
> to do whatever he wants to do with 2.4.x. Including, of course, just
> reverting all my and Andrea's VM changes ;)
>
> I'm personally convinced that my tree does the right thing VM-wise, but
> Alan _will_ be the maintainer, and I'm not going to butt in on his
> decisions. The last thing I want to be is a micromanaging pointy-haired
> boss.

	Let me speak out now and say that IM3VHO opinion, Alan
should keep the Linus VM alive in the 2.4 series, and he should also
maintain 2.4-ac with Rik's VM. IM3VHO, both VMs are good at different
things; thus, both of them should be hung onto, and maintained until
a general vote of either Linux's users or the top kernel maintainers
for either VM. The same goes for other differences between virgin
Linus and -ac.

>
> (2.5.x will obviously use the new VM regardless, and I actually believe
> that the new VM simply is better. I think that Alan will see the light
> eventually, but at the same time I clearly admit that Alan was right on a
> stability front for the last month or two ;)

	Quick note: Andrea's VM and Linus's kernel have been a very good
combination. My 900MHz Athlon box with 256MB RAM and about 100MB swap
ran very badly on 2.4.9. With 2.4.10 it runs much nicer (more responsive,
less swapping, actual paging, etc.)
	
>
>> My own kernel patches I had to stop because I couldn't keep up ....  Can
>> we go a full month with you just hitting us over the head with a bat
>> yelling 'test, dammit, test', until this is tested fully before
>> releasing another production release?
>
> I think we're really close.

	Really close? How close is really close? Can it be quantified?
	
>
> [ I'd actually like to thank Gary Sandine from laclinux.com who made the
>   "Ultimate Linux Box" for an article by Eric Raymond for Linux Journal.
>   They sent me one too, and the 2GB box made it easier to test some real
>   highmem loads. This has given me additional load environments to test,
>   and made me able to see some of the problems people reported.. ]
>
> But I do want to make a real 2.4.14, not just another "final" pre-kernel,
> and let that be the base for a reasonably orderly switch-over at 2.4.15
> (ie I'd still release 2.4.15, everything from then on is Alan).
>
>                Linus

Brad

P.S: You guys have done an absolutely wonderful job. Despite the occassional
flamewar holocaust, Linux 2.4 (in any form, -linus -ac -aa) is the best
Linux ever.

=====
Brad Chapman

Permanent e-mails: kakadu_croc@yahoo.com
		   jabiru_croc@yahoo.com
Alternate e-mails: kakadu@adelphia.net
		   kakadu@netscape.net

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Re: Digest message 28, subject: 2.4.14-pre6

[Alan Cox]

> for either VM. The same goes for other differences between virgin
> Linus and -ac.

Barring a few remaining stability niggles the debate is over. Andrea's VM
fixed up by Marcelo works better.

Alan

Re: Digest message 28, subject: 2.4.14-pre6

[Mike Fedyk]

On Thu, Nov 01, 2001 at 12:47:46AM +0000, Alan Cox wrote:
> > for either VM. The same goes for other differences between virgin
> > Linus and -ac.
> 
> Barring a few remaining stability niggles the debate is over. Andrea's VM
> fixed up by Marcelo works better.
> 
> Alan

When do you plan on switching to the -aa vm?

Is there chance that you could add the blockdev in pagecache patch first, or
are they interdependent?

Mike

Re: Digest message 28, subject: 2.4.14-pre6

[Alan Cox]

> When do you plan on switching to the -aa vm?

When it works

> Is there chance that you could add the blockdev in pagecache patch first, or
> are they interdependent?

They are pretty much seperate. When Al Viro is happy he's cleaned all that
mess up I'll look into it