Re: Linux Kernel include files

Joerg Schilling
2007-06-25T14:50:34Z

david@lang.hm wrote:

> On Fri, 22 Jun 2007, Joerg Schilling wrote:
>
> > Is there some hope that at least the Linux kernel interface definition files and
> > everything recursively included from these files will be rewritten in vanilla
> > ANSI C?
>
> this has been discussed many times and the answer is that the kernel is
> not gong to change it's side of things to ANSI C.

Well, there is no need to go to ANSI C as pre-ANSI would to it also.
The problem is non ANSI gcc extensions.

> that doesn't mean that one of the many projects out there to create
> seperate interface headers won't do this.
>
> however, there is another interesting thing going on at the moment. The
> standards commity is currently deciding what will be in the next rev of
> the C specs (tentitivly labels C1x for discussions, they are hopeing to
> release them in '09 or '10)
>
> some of the things that are GCC extentions are going to be added to the
> spec (ahtough possibly with a change to the syntax)

This may make sense after it did happen, but it does not help today.

> so now is the time to talk to your local reps who go to these meetings and
> make your suggestions for what should be added to the standard and what
> should not be.
>
> remember that anything to be added must be implemented somehwere,
> preferrably by multiple seperate compilers.

Using plain C in the Linux kernel include files would be sufficient for all
compilers that make sense to be supported.

Jörg

--
EMail:joerg@schily.isdn.cs.tu-berlin.de (home) Jörg Schilling D-13353 Berlin
js@cs.tu-berlin.de (uni)
schilling@fokus.fraunhofer.de (work) Blog: http://schily.blogspot.com/
URL: http://cdrecord.berlios.de/old/private/ ftp://ftp.berlios.de/pub/schily