Re: Locking Between User Context and Soft IRQs in 2.4.0

Keith Owens
2000-11-06T12:58:36Z

On Mon, 06 Nov 2000 07:49:00 -0500,
Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@mandrakesoft.com> wrote:
>Keith Owens wrote:
>> I prefer a requirement that all net drivers upgrade to the new
>> interface, otherwise we have odd drivers using the old interface
>> forever and being at risk of module unload. That is why I coded my
>> patch as returning -ENODEV if there was no dev->open. However I have
>> to accept that just before a 2.4 release is not the best time to have a
>> flag day. Put it down for 2.5.
>
>What is "it" that gets put off until 2.5? Breaking net drivers with an
>interface upgrade, or eliminating this race?

Forcing all network drivers to define a dev->open routine.

>There is absolutely no need to break drivers for this. Not only is it
>needless pain, but doing so is inconsistent -- with struct
>file_operations, I am free to have owner==NULL.

True, but if you set owner==NULL for something that is really in a
module then you are lying to the module layer. See foot, shoot foot.