merging new drivers (was Re: 2.6.18 -mm merge plans)

Jeff Garzik
2006-06-05T01:32:25Z

On Sun, Jun 04, 2006 at 01:50:11PM -0700, Andrew Morton wrote:
> areca-raid-linux-scsi-driver.patch

> I'm going to start sending the Areca driver to James, too. The vendor
> has worked hard and the hardware is becoming more important - let's help
> them get it in.

In general, I'm a bit disappointed at the time it takes new drivers to
reach the upstream kernel. I grant that a lot of vendor drivers are
unreadable, unmergable shite... but on the other side of the coin, I
see a lot of decent drivers get stalled simply because they aren't
perfect.

I would rather see a driver get "95% there" -- because once a driver is
merged into the upstream kernel, it has a lot more visibility, and will
inevitably receive the remaining changes and cleanups anyway.

Jeff