Re: any chance of 2.6.0-test*?

[Dave Jones <davej@codemonkey.org.uk>]

On Fri, Jan 10, 2003 at 11:39:57AM -0500, Shawn Starr wrote:
 > There will be a new kernel tree that will fit this purpose soon called -xlk 
 > (eXtendable or Extended Linux Kernel). The hope to make it an 'official' like 
 > -ac, -mm tree for stuffing experimental stuff into a post 2.6 (or just before 
 > 2.6 goes live) kernel. I will need help in getting this to become a reality 
 > in the coming months to 2.6.

The effort is really much better spent trying to get to 2.6 first before
worrying about things like 2.7.  I hope 2.6 doesn't turn into the
"heres my 2.4+preempt+rmap patchset" monster that we saw six months ago.
 
 > We want code that will add new drivers / devices and general 
 > improvements to the kernel.

non-core changes (ie, new drivers) still get added during code freeze,
and during 2.6.x, there's no need for a specific tree just for this.
Adding a new driver doesn't (or at least shouldn't) impact any existing
users if done right.
 
 > The goal is once these are stabilized they can be 
 > submitted to Linus and friends for blessings and inclusion into 2.7 dev 
 > *early* so we won't have a mad rush for features before the next feature 
 > freeze.

Nice try. It'll still happen regardless. Bombing Linus with ten zillion
patches when he opens up 2.7.x with "has been tested in 2.6-xyz" isn't
the way to do it. Everything has to happen incrementally, or you end
up with a mess.

		Dave

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| Dave Jones.        http://www.codemonkey.org.uk
| SuSE Labs