Messages in this thread | | | Date | Sun, 5 Feb 2006 16:13:14 +0100 | From | Adrian Bunk <> | Subject | Re: Wanted: hotfixes for -mm kernels |
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On Sun, Feb 05, 2006 at 10:09:59AM +0100, Marc Koschewski wrote: > * Adrian Bunk <bunk@stusta.de> [2006-02-04 21:41:39 +0100]: > > On Sat, Feb 04, 2006 at 07:57:39PM +0100, Marc Koschewski wrote: >... > > > We talked about hotfixes for -mm. So why not check these into the -mm-git tree > > > then? This would make sense and would conform fully to my understanding of what > > > the -mm-git tree should be. I don't want to select 23 patches from LKML to make > > > the tree compile or work. I want to checkout. Why make it easy when you may get > > > it difficult. > > >... > > > What sense does an -mm tree make when there are people that cannot test it because of > > > known bugs that lead to the -mm tree not being bootable or - even worse - destroying > > > the system? > > > > That's exactly what Andrew does now implement through the hot-fixes > > directory [1]. >... > Moreover, just _one_ more thing which is most important at least to me: > If one can do a checkout on a daily basis with let's say 3 new patches checked > in, one can test these. The other day there are maybe another 2 new patches > applied which are to be tested. This would just speed up the testing cycle > whereas a 3 MB patch with tons of fixes and testing is just like a kick-down > with the hand-brake pulled. Sometimes I#M really overwhelmed by how many patches > came in with the recent -mm. ACPI, ALSA, VM, various FS stuff, ... It's quite > impossible to me to really test the patches in an effective manner due to having > my 2 eyes focussed on too many things at one. I do test ALSA with various types > of in/out operation while my reiserfs partition is on the way to hell. To me > that doesn't sound like effective testing. > > This is just about testing and debugging time effectiveness and not about some > religious thing a la SCM vs. patches.
Hotfixes are something that can be done.
What you suggest is not really possible.
Your thinko is: 3 new patches a day don't sum up to 3 MB after one week.
As far as I understand it, the big work for Andrew is integrating two dozen git repositories and at about thousand patches in a way that: - everything applies - the kernel compiles on several architectures - the kernel actually runs on some machines
Andrew does all this before he releases an -mm kernel (I know due to the feedback he sometimes gives for patches I sent), and this is the sole reason why most -mm kernels are half-way usable.
Some random snapshot from Andrew's repository wouldn't help anyone, either it's good enough that he releases an -mm kernel or it isn't worth other people testing it.
> Marc
cu Adrian
--
"Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days. "Only a promise," Lao Er said. Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed
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