Re: [PATCH] vfs: Add a trace point in the mark_inode_dirty function

Arjan van de Ven
2009-11-11T16:17:41Z

On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:42:39 -0500
Jeff Garzik <jeff@garzik.org> wrote:

> On 11/11/2009 01:34 AM, Arjan van de Ven wrote:
> > Wu Fengguang<fengguang.wu@intel.com> wrote:
> >> Maybe this is enough for POWERTOP, however for general use, the
> >> dirty type(data/metadata) and inode number may be valuable to some
> >> users?
> >
> > what can a user do with an inode number????
>
> Inode numbers have always been visible to userspace... IIRC, tar(1)
> uses the st_ino member of struct stat to detect hard links in certain
> cases. ls(1) displays inode numbers with -i, find(1) looks for them
> with -inum, ...

ok let me rephrase that. What would a user DO with this inode number
information, given that the filename is already passed on;
what additional useful, not-infinitely-hard-to-get piece of information
does this give the user that he can use to do <something> that he cannot
do with the current information ? E.g. what is that <something> ?

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Arjan van de Ven Intel Open Source Technology Centre
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