Messages in this thread |  | | From | "Albert D. Cahalan" <> | Subject | Re: kernel-2.4.0-test11 crashed again; this time i send you the Oops-message | Date | Sat, 25 Nov 2000 00:41:01 -0500 (EST) |
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Keith Owens writes: > "Albert D. Cahalan" <acahalan@cs.uml.edu> wrote:
>> The infamous LINK_FIRST infrastructure was sort of half-way done. >> >> It would be best to cause drivers with an unspecified link order >> to move around a bit, so that errors may be discovered more quickly. > > The "other" list in LINK_FIRST is sorted by name. It could be changed > to a random sort, probably based on a hash of size and mtime. It would > be relatively expensive so would have to be restricted to a "exercise > the kernel" CONFIG option.
Yes, throwing out the low bits of mtime so that everybody gets the same link order for a week. (must be able to reproduce failures)
>> LINK_FIRST is pretty coarse. One would want a topological sort, >> or at least LINK_0 through LINK_9 _without_ anything else. > > There is no need for multiple LINK_n entries, the objects partition > neatly into three groups. LINK_FIRST objects, in the order they are > defined. The rest of the objects (object list - (LINK_FIRST + > LINK_LAST), in an undefined order. LINK_LAST objects, in the order > they are defined.
Ah, but then Linus has an argument to crush you. There is no reason left to have anything but LINK_FIRST, and so the rest is redundant and you can just kill the whole idea.
Going with multiple LINK_n entries and nothing else makes it possible to make order dynamic within any LINK_n group. This forces eventual discovery of any problems.
> If you can come up with a concrete link order example that > cannot be handled by a three partition model then I will > listen. Otherwise it is just over engineering.
The three-partition model is over-engineering, because it adds extra complexity without getting rid of the fixed-order group. Instead you get two fixed-order groups and one dynamic-order one.
If we are to leave the current model of a single fixed-order group, then we ought to switch to something else uniform. The three groups you desribe just isn't very regular.
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