Re: Regarding sumbiting a new NIC driver to kernel.

[Francois Romieu <romieu@fr.zoreil.com>]

(insert the usual "only speaking on behalf of myself" here)

Ren, Cloud <cjren@qca.qualcomm.com> :
[...]
> Would you have any advices to us ?  If this is possible, how do I submit the
> new driver and remove the old driver? Can you give me a doc how to submit
> the driver to kernel or any hints ?

Advices:
- publish early for review and comments. Code is reviewed here, on netdev.
- work with the current atl* in-kernel drivers maintainers.
- provide a big-bang free migration path.
- read netdev. http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html lists some archive.
- don't expect the convenience on maintenance to materialize immediately.

(old farts may appreciate shorter lines - somewhere between 72 and 80
chars - too)

If you have not done so yet, please consider reading:
- Documentation/CodingStyle
- Documentation/SubmittingPatches

Documentation/SubmittingDrivers is imho irrelevant here.

> Btw, why do we need to develop the new driver?
> The most important reason is for convenience on maintenance 1. we need to
> make HW operations uniform on all supported OS, such as WinXP, Win7 and Linux.
> 2. As our company is continuous to release new NICs, there are more and more
> drivers to support those NICs. It's a pity to develop and maintain so many
> drivers. So we have developed the driver, "alx". We will use it to support
> as many NICs as possible, including NICs released in future.

Platform neutral does not necessarily bode good things... :o/ 

Don't be shy, show the code.

-- 
Ueimor