Re: [PATCH 36/38] vfs: Add a sample program for the new mount API [ver #10]

Linus Torvalds
2018-07-30T17:54:33Z

On Mon, Jul 30, 2018 at 10:30 AM Pavel Machek <pavel@ucw.cz> wrote:
>
> Still userland needs a way to understand the errors.

Not really.

We don't internationalize kernel strings. We never have. Yes, some
people tried to do some database of kernel messages for translation
purposes, but I absolutely refused to make that part of the
development process. It's a pain.

For some GUI project, internationalization might be a big deal, and it
might be "TheRule(tm)". For the kernel, not so much. We care about the
technology, not the language.

So we'll continue to give error numbers for "an error happened". And
if/when people need more information about just what _triggered_ that
error, they are as English-language strings. You can quote them and
google them without having to understand them. That's just how things
work.

Let's face it, the mount options themselves are already (shortened)
English language words. We talk about "mtime" and "create".

There are places where localization is a good idea. The kernel is
*not* one of those places.

Linus