From: Jim Nance <jlnance@sdf.lonestar.org>
To: Peter Staubach <staubach@redhat.com>
Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: Kernel header policy
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 18:38:59 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20050712183859.GA21230@SDF.LONESTAR.ORG> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <42D3C51D.3020703@redhat.com>
On Tue, Jul 12, 2005 at 09:26:53AM -0400, Peter Staubach wrote:
> I must admit a little confusion here. Clearly, kernel header files are
> used at the user level. The kernel and user level applications must share
> definitions for a great many things.
Perhaps a little history would help. In the beginning, the kernel was
written with the intention that userland would be including the headers.
And libc did include the kernel headers.
This did provide an effective way to get new kernel features to show
up in userland, but it created all sorts of other problems. Eventually
it was decided/decreed that userland would NOT include kernel headers.
Instead, libc would provide a set of headers which would either be
compatable, or would marshel data into the form the kernel wanted.
I don't remember exactly when this was done, but I believe it was
some time in the late 90s. It's been this way a while now.
Thanks,
Jim
--
jlnance@sdf.lonestar.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.lonestar.org
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2005-07-12 18:40 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 11+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2005-07-11 21:37 Kernel header policy Marc Aurele La France
2005-07-11 21:56 ` Stephen Frost
2005-07-11 22:44 ` Tomasz Torcz
2005-07-12 2:06 ` Horst von Brand
2005-07-12 13:26 ` Peter Staubach
2005-07-12 13:36 ` Arjan van de Ven
2005-07-12 16:30 ` Alistair John Strachan
2005-07-12 18:38 ` Jim Nance [this message]
2005-07-12 19:08 ` Eric Piel
2005-07-12 20:18 ` Tom Rini
2005-07-12 3:07 ` Greg KH
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