Re: [Q]: Linux and real device drivers

David Hinds (dhinds@zen.stanford.edu)
Fri, 24 Sep 1999 14:30:09 -0700


> You have two choices
>
> 1. You keep a common large merged tree. Scalability arguments I think
> are wrong here. They make assumptions inconsistent with the growth
> in computing power, in memory, in disk and in networking.
>
> 2. You keep everything in pieces. If you do this your project flies
> apart and you spend your entire life glueing it back together, and
> failing probably to succeed.

I think I'm arguing a slightly different point. I don't think anyone
would say that the scalability issues are related to hardware limits:
a full kernel build with every option enabled may well take less time
on a typical computer now than it did five years ago. Also, the
granularity of what goes in what tarball is mostly irrelevant since
that can be hidden behind scripts. The real scalability arguments
relate to things that require human intervention. Examples include:

- Linus has to process patches for everything in the kernel tree.
- People need to understand the tree of kernel configuration options
to be able to configure kernels.
- Developers need to be able to navigate the kernel tree, find things,
understand the layout, etc.

The bigger the kernel tree gets, the harder it is to configure,
navigate, understand, etc.

-- Dave Hinds

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