Re: [RFC] HOWTO do Linux kernel development

Greg KH
2005-11-15T17:47:04Z

On Tue, Nov 15, 2005 at 03:42:44PM +0100, Andi Kleen wrote:
> Greg KH <gregkh@suse.de> writes:
>
> > The kernel is written using GNU C and the GNU toolchain. While it
> > adheres to the ISO C99 (??) standard, it uses a number of extensions
>
> C89 - The few left over gcc 2.95 users are blocking modern C constructs.
> Even without that it would be a C99 subset, e.g. arbitary long long divisions
> or floating point are not supported.
>
> Also the kernel is a freestanding C environment, so parts are not supported.

Thanks, I've modified it to mention this.

> > Also realize that it is not acceptable to send patches for inclusion
> > that are unfinished and will be "fixed up later."
>
> I'm not sure I fully agree on that. I conflicts with the "merge early, merge
> often" imperative. IMHO it's ok to submit patches that are not perfect,
> but improve something or make a incremental cleanup step, as long as the
> problems are not severe and the patch by itself is a clear improvement. Of course
> this is handled on a case by case basis.

Yeah, it is a case-by-case, but generally we want to know up front what
the final result is going to be.

> > Justify your change
> > -------------------
> >
> > Along with breaking up your patches, it is very important for you to let
> > the Linux community know why they should add this change. New features
> > must be justified as being needed and useful.
>
> My request is that each patch should carry a meaningful changelog.
> That should tell why and a rough (doesn't need to be detailed) overview how
> the change is done.

Others privately commented on this too, and I've added a section
describing it.

Thanks for the comments.

greg k-h