From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S262030AbVGLSkP (ORCPT ); Tue, 12 Jul 2005 14:40:15 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S262022AbVGLSj7 (ORCPT ); Tue, 12 Jul 2005 14:39:59 -0400 Received: from [192.94.73.30] ([192.94.73.30]:31201 "EHLO sdf.lonestar.org") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S262030AbVGLSjS (ORCPT ); Tue, 12 Jul 2005 14:39:18 -0400 From: Jim Nance Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 18:38:59 +0000 To: Peter Staubach Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: Kernel header policy Message-ID: <20050712183859.GA21230@SDF.LONESTAR.ORG> References: <200507120206.j6C26kGY017571@laptop11.inf.utfsm.cl> <42D3C51D.3020703@redhat.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <42D3C51D.3020703@redhat.com> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.1i Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org 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