Re: [2.6 patch] remove CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL

[Adrian Bunk <bunk@kernel.org>]

On Tue, Jan 01, 2008 at 02:23:44PM +0000, Alan Cox wrote:
> On Tue, 1 Jan 2008 15:48:09 +0200
> Adrian Bunk <bunk@kernel.org> wrote:
> 
> > This patch removes the EXPERIMENTAL option and all dependencies on
> > EXPERIMENTAL since they are pointless.
> 
> NAK
> 
> Experimental is an important guide to driver and code quality. 
>...

History has shown that EXPERIMENTAL tags in many areas of the kernel 
have not been maintained in a way that they would be usable as a guide.

And as soon as you need _one_ driver or feature depending on 
EXPERIMENTAL, you anyway lose all benefits it might have had.

The latter is the point where it makes sense if a user or distribution 
e.g. enables CONFIG_ATA_EXPERIMENTAL for getting all hardware supported 
but not CONFIG_CRYPTO_EXPERIMENTAL because he doesn't want to use
(resp. support usage of) experimental cryptographic algorithm 
implementations.

> >	This patch has been sent on:
> >	 11 Dec 2007
> >	 25 Nov 2007
> >	 17 Nov 2007
> 
> So why not drop it instead. It clearly has no consensus

That's not about consensus, it's more that the number of submissions 
required until Andrew includes a patch into -mm seems to be related to 
the number of files touched...

cu
Adrian

-- 

       "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
        of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
       "Only a promise," Lao Er said.
                                       Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed