Re: [PATCH] ext4: Variable to signed to check return code

Lee Jones
2019-05-18T06:38:42Z

On Fri, 17 May 2019, Theodore Ts'o wrote:

> On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 11:25:06AM +0100, Lee Jones wrote:
> > On Fri, 17 May 2019, Philippe Mazenauer wrote:
> >
> > > Variables 'n' and 'err' are both used for less-than-zero error checking,
> > > however both are declared as unsigned. Ensure ext4_map_blocks() and
> > > add_system_zone() are able to have their return values propagated
> > > correctly by redefining them both as signed integers.
>
> This is already fixed in the ext4.git tree; it will be pushed to Linus
> shortly. (Thanks to Colin Ian King from Canonical for sending the
> patch.)
>
> > Acked-by: Lee Jones <lee.jones@linaro.org>
>
> Lee, techncially this should have been Reviewed-by. Acked-by is used
> by the maintainer when a patch is going in via some other tree other
> than the Maintainer's (it means the Maintainer has acked the patch).
> If you are reviewing a patch, the tag you should be adding is
> Reviewed-by.

Actually, that's not technically correct.

"- Acked-by: indicates an agreement by another developer (often a
maintainer of the relevant code) that the patch is appropriate for
inclusion into the kernel."

And I, as a developer (and not a Maintainer in this case) do indicate
that this patch is appropriate for inclusion into the kernel.

Reviewed-by has stronger connotations and implies I have in-depth
knowledge of the subsystem/driver AND agree to the Reviewer's
Statement. I use Acked-by in this case as a weaker agreement after a
shallow review of the patch based on its merits alone.