Compilation issues using netlink.h

Compilation issues using netlink.h

[Matthew Burgess]

Hi,

The test case below simplifies a failure I see when trying to compile 
strace using kernel headers from Linux-2.6.32.2:

#include <linux/netlink.h>
struct sockaddr_nl nl;
int main() {
   return 0;
}

$ gcc -o test test.c
In file included from test.c:1:
/usr/include/linux/netlink.h:34: error: expected 
specifier-qualifier-list before 'sa_family_t'

The comment in netlink.h suggests that 'sa_family_t' is expected to be 
found in linux/socket.h, but since commit 9c501935a3 ("net: Support 
inclusion of <linux/socket.h> before <sys/socket.h>") that appears to 
not be true anymore, it's now in sys/socket.h.  Sure enough, if I change 
the include in netlink.h to pull in sys/socket.h instead of 
linux/socket.h, that enables the test case (and strace) to compile 
again, but I wasn't sure if it was really the right thing to do.

Thanks,

Matt.

Re: Compilation issues using netlink.h

[Ben Hutchings]

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On Mon, 2009-12-28 at 00:32 +0000, Matthew Burgess wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> The test case below simplifies a failure I see when trying to compile 
> strace using kernel headers from Linux-2.6.32.2:
> 
> #include <linux/netlink.h>
> struct sockaddr_nl nl;
> int main() {
>    return 0;
> }
> 
> $ gcc -o test test.c
> In file included from test.c:1:
> /usr/include/linux/netlink.h:34: error: expected 
> specifier-qualifier-list before 'sa_family_t'
> 
> The comment in netlink.h suggests that 'sa_family_t' is expected to be 
> found in linux/socket.h, but since commit 9c501935a3 ("net: Support 
> inclusion of <linux/socket.h> before <sys/socket.h>") that appears to 
> not be true anymore, it's now in sys/socket.h.

Right.  I'm aware of this and suggested that it should be reverted, but
David Miller reckons I was right in the first place.

> Sure enough, if I change 
> the include in netlink.h to pull in sys/socket.h instead of 
> linux/socket.h, that enables the test case (and strace) to compile 
> again, but I wasn't sure if it was really the right thing to do.

I don't think it is - that will bring in many more definitions.

There are actually a whole lot of kernel networking headers which
require sa_family_t when included by user-space code.  Until
<linux/socket.h> and <sys/socket.h> cooperate to define sa_family_t
once, you will just have to include <sys/socket.h> before kernel
networking headers.

Ben.

-- 
Ben Hutchings
The obvious mathematical breakthrough [to break modern encryption] would be
development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers. - Bill Gates

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