RE: [Infiniband-general] Getting an Infiniband access layer in theLinux kernel

[Arnd Bergmann]

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On Fri, 6 Feb 2004, Hefty, Sean wrote:

> We want to continue to discuss specific details about what's needed to
> add the code into the kernel.  Here's a list of modifications that I
> think are needed so far:
>
> * Update the code to make direct calls for atomic operations.
> * Verify the use of spinlock calls.
> * Reformat the code for tab spacing and curly brace usage.
> * Elimination of typedefs.

Some more hints:
* Understand how to use ioctls: Your current code can't possibly
  work in 32 bit emulation mode, e.g. when running i386 libs on ia64.
  You are also completely ignoring the ioctl 'command' argument.
* Try to reduce the number of necessary ioctls: 90 different commands
  for a single device is just overkill.
* Don't try to hide system calls behind a character device (/dev/cl_dev).
  Someone will find it sooner or later.
* Don't reimplement devfs (poorly), what your are trying to achieve is
  far easier done with a misc device and udev. call_user_mode_helper
  should only be used for running hotplug.
* Get rid of IN and OUT in declarations. If a pointer is const, it's an
  input.
* Declare functions static when they are only used in the file they are
  defined in. Put extern declarations into headers.
* put EXPORT_SYMBOL statements right next to the symbol, not in a seperate
  file.
* Information about drivers/devices should go to sysfs instead of procfs.
* Don't use vmalloc. 
* aside from spinlocks and atomics, there are some more files in complib
  that can easily be removed by using linux primitives directly (e.g.
  kmalloc, list_head, semaphore, work_queue)
* Use C99 named struct initializers instead of their deprecated gcc 
  counterparts.

> And, yes, knowing some of these issues up front will save the trouble of
> submitting code that will be immediately rejected.

Right, but that should not stop you from providing a BK tree or a diff
file that lets you build ibal in a linux tree. As a starting point, just
drop all of ibal and complib into some tree so people can look at it
without having to figure out how you are building stuff.

	Arnd <><
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