--- /dev/null
-which want to wait for that condition declare a :c:type:`wait_queue_t`
+ ============================================
+ Unreliable Guide To Hacking The Linux Kernel
+ ============================================
+
+ :Author: Rusty Russell
+
+ Introduction
+ ============
+
+ Welcome, gentle reader, to Rusty's Remarkably Unreliable Guide to Linux
+ Kernel Hacking. This document describes the common routines and general
+ requirements for kernel code: its goal is to serve as a primer for Linux
+ kernel development for experienced C programmers. I avoid implementation
+ details: that's what the code is for, and I ignore whole tracts of
+ useful routines.
+
+ Before you read this, please understand that I never wanted to write
+ this document, being grossly under-qualified, but I always wanted to
+ read it, and this was the only way. I hope it will grow into a
+ compendium of best practice, common starting points and random
+ information.
+
+ The Players
+ ===========
+
+ At any time each of the CPUs in a system can be:
+
+ - not associated with any process, serving a hardware interrupt;
+
+ - not associated with any process, serving a softirq or tasklet;
+
+ - running in kernel space, associated with a process (user context);
+
+ - running a process in user space.
+
+ There is an ordering between these. The bottom two can preempt each
+ other, but above that is a strict hierarchy: each can only be preempted
+ by the ones above it. For example, while a softirq is running on a CPU,
+ no other softirq will preempt it, but a hardware interrupt can. However,
+ any other CPUs in the system execute independently.
+
+ We'll see a number of ways that the user context can block interrupts,
+ to become truly non-preemptable.
+
+ User Context
+ ------------
+
+ User context is when you are coming in from a system call or other trap:
+ like userspace, you can be preempted by more important tasks and by
+ interrupts. You can sleep, by calling :c:func:`schedule()`.
+
+ .. note::
+
+ You are always in user context on module load and unload, and on
+ operations on the block device layer.
+
+ In user context, the ``current`` pointer (indicating the task we are
+ currently executing) is valid, and :c:func:`in_interrupt()`
+ (``include/linux/preempt.h``) is false.
+
+ .. warning::
+
+ Beware that if you have preemption or softirqs disabled (see below),
+ :c:func:`in_interrupt()` will return a false positive.
+
+ Hardware Interrupts (Hard IRQs)
+ -------------------------------
+
+ Timer ticks, network cards and keyboard are examples of real hardware
+ which produce interrupts at any time. The kernel runs interrupt
+ handlers, which services the hardware. The kernel guarantees that this
+ handler is never re-entered: if the same interrupt arrives, it is queued
+ (or dropped). Because it disables interrupts, this handler has to be
+ fast: frequently it simply acknowledges the interrupt, marks a 'software
+ interrupt' for execution and exits.
+
+ You can tell you are in a hardware interrupt, because
+ :c:func:`in_irq()` returns true.
+
+ .. warning::
+
+ Beware that this will return a false positive if interrupts are
+ disabled (see below).
+
+ Software Interrupt Context: Softirqs and Tasklets
+ -------------------------------------------------
+
+ Whenever a system call is about to return to userspace, or a hardware
+ interrupt handler exits, any 'software interrupts' which are marked
+ pending (usually by hardware interrupts) are run (``kernel/softirq.c``).
+
+ Much of the real interrupt handling work is done here. Early in the
+ transition to SMP, there were only 'bottom halves' (BHs), which didn't
+ take advantage of multiple CPUs. Shortly after we switched from wind-up
+ computers made of match-sticks and snot, we abandoned this limitation
+ and switched to 'softirqs'.
+
+ ``include/linux/interrupt.h`` lists the different softirqs. A very
+ important softirq is the timer softirq (``include/linux/timer.h``): you
+ can register to have it call functions for you in a given length of
+ time.
+
+ Softirqs are often a pain to deal with, since the same softirq will run
+ simultaneously on more than one CPU. For this reason, tasklets
+ (``include/linux/interrupt.h``) are more often used: they are
+ dynamically-registrable (meaning you can have as many as you want), and
+ they also guarantee that any tasklet will only run on one CPU at any
+ time, although different tasklets can run simultaneously.
+
+ .. warning::
+
+ The name 'tasklet' is misleading: they have nothing to do with
+ 'tasks', and probably more to do with some bad vodka Alexey
+ Kuznetsov had at the time.
+
+ You can tell you are in a softirq (or tasklet) using the
+ :c:func:`in_softirq()` macro (``include/linux/preempt.h``).
+
+ .. warning::
+
+ Beware that this will return a false positive if a
+ :ref:`botton half lock <local_bh_disable>` is held.
+
+ Some Basic Rules
+ ================
+
+ No memory protection
+ If you corrupt memory, whether in user context or interrupt context,
+ the whole machine will crash. Are you sure you can't do what you
+ want in userspace?
+
+ No floating point or MMX
+ The FPU context is not saved; even in user context the FPU state
+ probably won't correspond with the current process: you would mess
+ with some user process' FPU state. If you really want to do this,
+ you would have to explicitly save/restore the full FPU state (and
+ avoid context switches). It is generally a bad idea; use fixed point
+ arithmetic first.
+
+ A rigid stack limit
+ Depending on configuration options the kernel stack is about 3K to
+ 6K for most 32-bit architectures: it's about 14K on most 64-bit
+ archs, and often shared with interrupts so you can't use it all.
+ Avoid deep recursion and huge local arrays on the stack (allocate
+ them dynamically instead).
+
+ The Linux kernel is portable
+ Let's keep it that way. Your code should be 64-bit clean, and
+ endian-independent. You should also minimize CPU specific stuff,
+ e.g. inline assembly should be cleanly encapsulated and minimized to
+ ease porting. Generally it should be restricted to the
+ architecture-dependent part of the kernel tree.
+
+ ioctls: Not writing a new system call
+ =====================================
+
+ A system call generally looks like this::
+
+ asmlinkage long sys_mycall(int arg)
+ {
+ return 0;
+ }
+
+
+ First, in most cases you don't want to create a new system call. You
+ create a character device and implement an appropriate ioctl for it.
+ This is much more flexible than system calls, doesn't have to be entered
+ in every architecture's ``include/asm/unistd.h`` and
+ ``arch/kernel/entry.S`` file, and is much more likely to be accepted by
+ Linus.
+
+ If all your routine does is read or write some parameter, consider
+ implementing a :c:func:`sysfs()` interface instead.
+
+ Inside the ioctl you're in user context to a process. When a error
+ occurs you return a negated errno (see
+ ``include/uapi/asm-generic/errno-base.h``,
+ ``include/uapi/asm-generic/errno.h`` and ``include/linux/errno.h``),
+ otherwise you return 0.
+
+ After you slept you should check if a signal occurred: the Unix/Linux
+ way of handling signals is to temporarily exit the system call with the
+ ``-ERESTARTSYS`` error. The system call entry code will switch back to
+ user context, process the signal handler and then your system call will
+ be restarted (unless the user disabled that). So you should be prepared
+ to process the restart, e.g. if you're in the middle of manipulating
+ some data structure.
+
+ ::
+
+ if (signal_pending(current))
+ return -ERESTARTSYS;
+
+
+ If you're doing longer computations: first think userspace. If you
+ **really** want to do it in kernel you should regularly check if you need
+ to give up the CPU (remember there is cooperative multitasking per CPU).
+ Idiom::
+
+ cond_resched(); /* Will sleep */
+
+
+ A short note on interface design: the UNIX system call motto is "Provide
+ mechanism not policy".
+
+ Recipes for Deadlock
+ ====================
+
+ You cannot call any routines which may sleep, unless:
+
+ - You are in user context.
+
+ - You do not own any spinlocks.
+
+ - You have interrupts enabled (actually, Andi Kleen says that the
+ scheduling code will enable them for you, but that's probably not
+ what you wanted).
+
+ Note that some functions may sleep implicitly: common ones are the user
+ space access functions (\*_user) and memory allocation functions
+ without ``GFP_ATOMIC``.
+
+ You should always compile your kernel ``CONFIG_DEBUG_ATOMIC_SLEEP`` on,
+ and it will warn you if you break these rules. If you **do** break the
+ rules, you will eventually lock up your box.
+
+ Really.
+
+ Common Routines
+ ===============
+
+ :c:func:`printk()`
+ ------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/printk.h``
+
+ :c:func:`printk()` feeds kernel messages to the console, dmesg, and
+ the syslog daemon. It is useful for debugging and reporting errors, and
+ can be used inside interrupt context, but use with caution: a machine
+ which has its console flooded with printk messages is unusable. It uses
+ a format string mostly compatible with ANSI C printf, and C string
+ concatenation to give it a first "priority" argument::
+
+ printk(KERN_INFO "i = %u\n", i);
+
+
+ See ``include/linux/kern_levels.h``; for other ``KERN_`` values; these are
+ interpreted by syslog as the level. Special case: for printing an IP
+ address use::
+
+ __be32 ipaddress;
+ printk(KERN_INFO "my ip: %pI4\n", &ipaddress);
+
+
+ :c:func:`printk()` internally uses a 1K buffer and does not catch
+ overruns. Make sure that will be enough.
+
+ .. note::
+
+ You will know when you are a real kernel hacker when you start
+ typoing printf as printk in your user programs :)
+
+ .. note::
+
+ Another sidenote: the original Unix Version 6 sources had a comment
+ on top of its printf function: "Printf should not be used for
+ chit-chat". You should follow that advice.
+
+ :c:func:`copy_to_user()` / :c:func:`copy_from_user()` / :c:func:`get_user()` / :c:func:`put_user()`
+ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/uaccess.h`` / ``asm/uaccess.h``
+
+ **[SLEEPS]**
+
+ :c:func:`put_user()` and :c:func:`get_user()` are used to get
+ and put single values (such as an int, char, or long) from and to
+ userspace. A pointer into userspace should never be simply dereferenced:
+ data should be copied using these routines. Both return ``-EFAULT`` or
+ 0.
+
+ :c:func:`copy_to_user()` and :c:func:`copy_from_user()` are
+ more general: they copy an arbitrary amount of data to and from
+ userspace.
+
+ .. warning::
+
+ Unlike :c:func:`put_user()` and :c:func:`get_user()`, they
+ return the amount of uncopied data (ie. 0 still means success).
+
+ [Yes, this moronic interface makes me cringe. The flamewar comes up
+ every year or so. --RR.]
+
+ The functions may sleep implicitly. This should never be called outside
+ user context (it makes no sense), with interrupts disabled, or a
+ spinlock held.
+
+ :c:func:`kmalloc()`/:c:func:`kfree()`
+ -------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/slab.h``
+
+ **[MAY SLEEP: SEE BELOW]**
+
+ These routines are used to dynamically request pointer-aligned chunks of
+ memory, like malloc and free do in userspace, but
+ :c:func:`kmalloc()` takes an extra flag word. Important values:
+
+ ``GFP_KERNEL``
+ May sleep and swap to free memory. Only allowed in user context, but
+ is the most reliable way to allocate memory.
+
+ ``GFP_ATOMIC``
+ Don't sleep. Less reliable than ``GFP_KERNEL``, but may be called
+ from interrupt context. You should **really** have a good
+ out-of-memory error-handling strategy.
+
+ ``GFP_DMA``
+ Allocate ISA DMA lower than 16MB. If you don't know what that is you
+ don't need it. Very unreliable.
+
+ If you see a sleeping function called from invalid context warning
+ message, then maybe you called a sleeping allocation function from
+ interrupt context without ``GFP_ATOMIC``. You should really fix that.
+ Run, don't walk.
+
+ If you are allocating at least ``PAGE_SIZE`` (``asm/page.h`` or
+ ``asm/page_types.h``) bytes, consider using :c:func:`__get_free_pages()`
+ (``include/linux/gfp.h``). It takes an order argument (0 for page sized,
+ 1 for double page, 2 for four pages etc.) and the same memory priority
+ flag word as above.
+
+ If you are allocating more than a page worth of bytes you can use
+ :c:func:`vmalloc()`. It'll allocate virtual memory in the kernel
+ map. This block is not contiguous in physical memory, but the MMU makes
+ it look like it is for you (so it'll only look contiguous to the CPUs,
+ not to external device drivers). If you really need large physically
+ contiguous memory for some weird device, you have a problem: it is
+ poorly supported in Linux because after some time memory fragmentation
+ in a running kernel makes it hard. The best way is to allocate the block
+ early in the boot process via the :c:func:`alloc_bootmem()`
+ routine.
+
+ Before inventing your own cache of often-used objects consider using a
+ slab cache in ``include/linux/slab.h``
+
+ :c:func:`current()`
+ -------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/asm/current.h``
+
+ This global variable (really a macro) contains a pointer to the current
+ task structure, so is only valid in user context. For example, when a
+ process makes a system call, this will point to the task structure of
+ the calling process. It is **not NULL** in interrupt context.
+
+ :c:func:`mdelay()`/:c:func:`udelay()`
+ -------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/asm/delay.h`` / ``include/linux/delay.h``
+
+ The :c:func:`udelay()` and :c:func:`ndelay()` functions can be
+ used for small pauses. Do not use large values with them as you risk
+ overflow - the helper function :c:func:`mdelay()` is useful here, or
+ consider :c:func:`msleep()`.
+
+ :c:func:`cpu_to_be32()`/:c:func:`be32_to_cpu()`/:c:func:`cpu_to_le32()`/:c:func:`le32_to_cpu()`
+ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/asm/byteorder.h``
+
+ The :c:func:`cpu_to_be32()` family (where the "32" can be replaced
+ by 64 or 16, and the "be" can be replaced by "le") are the general way
+ to do endian conversions in the kernel: they return the converted value.
+ All variations supply the reverse as well:
+ :c:func:`be32_to_cpu()`, etc.
+
+ There are two major variations of these functions: the pointer
+ variation, such as :c:func:`cpu_to_be32p()`, which take a pointer
+ to the given type, and return the converted value. The other variation
+ is the "in-situ" family, such as :c:func:`cpu_to_be32s()`, which
+ convert value referred to by the pointer, and return void.
+
+ :c:func:`local_irq_save()`/:c:func:`local_irq_restore()`
+ --------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/irqflags.h``
+
+ These routines disable hard interrupts on the local CPU, and restore
+ them. They are reentrant; saving the previous state in their one
+ ``unsigned long flags`` argument. If you know that interrupts are
+ enabled, you can simply use :c:func:`local_irq_disable()` and
+ :c:func:`local_irq_enable()`.
+
+ .. _local_bh_disable:
+
+ :c:func:`local_bh_disable()`/:c:func:`local_bh_enable()`
+ --------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/bottom_half.h``
+
+
+ These routines disable soft interrupts on the local CPU, and restore
+ them. They are reentrant; if soft interrupts were disabled before, they
+ will still be disabled after this pair of functions has been called.
+ They prevent softirqs and tasklets from running on the current CPU.
+
+ :c:func:`smp_processor_id()`
+ ----------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/smp.h``
+
+ :c:func:`get_cpu()` disables preemption (so you won't suddenly get
+ moved to another CPU) and returns the current processor number, between
+ 0 and ``NR_CPUS``. Note that the CPU numbers are not necessarily
+ continuous. You return it again with :c:func:`put_cpu()` when you
+ are done.
+
+ If you know you cannot be preempted by another task (ie. you are in
+ interrupt context, or have preemption disabled) you can use
+ smp_processor_id().
+
+ ``__init``/``__exit``/``__initdata``
+ ------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/init.h``
+
+ After boot, the kernel frees up a special section; functions marked with
+ ``__init`` and data structures marked with ``__initdata`` are dropped
+ after boot is complete: similarly modules discard this memory after
+ initialization. ``__exit`` is used to declare a function which is only
+ required on exit: the function will be dropped if this file is not
+ compiled as a module. See the header file for use. Note that it makes no
+ sense for a function marked with ``__init`` to be exported to modules
+ with :c:func:`EXPORT_SYMBOL()` or :c:func:`EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL()`- this
+ will break.
+
+ :c:func:`__initcall()`/:c:func:`module_init()`
+ ----------------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/init.h`` / ``include/linux/module.h``
+
+ Many parts of the kernel are well served as a module
+ (dynamically-loadable parts of the kernel). Using the
+ :c:func:`module_init()` and :c:func:`module_exit()` macros it
+ is easy to write code without #ifdefs which can operate both as a module
+ or built into the kernel.
+
+ The :c:func:`module_init()` macro defines which function is to be
+ called at module insertion time (if the file is compiled as a module),
+ or at boot time: if the file is not compiled as a module the
+ :c:func:`module_init()` macro becomes equivalent to
+ :c:func:`__initcall()`, which through linker magic ensures that
+ the function is called on boot.
+
+ The function can return a negative error number to cause module loading
+ to fail (unfortunately, this has no effect if the module is compiled
+ into the kernel). This function is called in user context with
+ interrupts enabled, so it can sleep.
+
+ :c:func:`module_exit()`
+ -----------------------
+
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/module.h``
+
+ This macro defines the function to be called at module removal time (or
+ never, in the case of the file compiled into the kernel). It will only
+ be called if the module usage count has reached zero. This function can
+ also sleep, but cannot fail: everything must be cleaned up by the time
+ it returns.
+
+ Note that this macro is optional: if it is not present, your module will
+ not be removable (except for 'rmmod -f').
+
+ :c:func:`try_module_get()`/:c:func:`module_put()`
+ -------------------------------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/module.h``
+
+ These manipulate the module usage count, to protect against removal (a
+ module also can't be removed if another module uses one of its exported
+ symbols: see below). Before calling into module code, you should call
+ :c:func:`try_module_get()` on that module: if it fails, then the
+ module is being removed and you should act as if it wasn't there.
+ Otherwise, you can safely enter the module, and call
+ :c:func:`module_put()` when you're finished.
+
+ Most registerable structures have an owner field, such as in the
+ :c:type:`struct file_operations <file_operations>` structure.
+ Set this field to the macro ``THIS_MODULE``.
+
+ Wait Queues ``include/linux/wait.h``
+ ====================================
+
+ **[SLEEPS]**
+
+ A wait queue is used to wait for someone to wake you up when a certain
+ condition is true. They must be used carefully to ensure there is no
+ race condition. You declare a :c:type:`wait_queue_head_t`, and then processes
++which want to wait for that condition declare a :c:type:`wait_queue_entry_t`
+ referring to themselves, and place that in the queue.
+
+ Declaring
+ ---------
+
+ You declare a ``wait_queue_head_t`` using the
+ :c:func:`DECLARE_WAIT_QUEUE_HEAD()` macro, or using the
+ :c:func:`init_waitqueue_head()` routine in your initialization
+ code.
+
+ Queuing
+ -------
+
+ Placing yourself in the waitqueue is fairly complex, because you must
+ put yourself in the queue before checking the condition. There is a
+ macro to do this: :c:func:`wait_event_interruptible()`
+ (``include/linux/wait.h``) The first argument is the wait queue head, and
+ the second is an expression which is evaluated; the macro returns 0 when
+ this expression is true, or ``-ERESTARTSYS`` if a signal is received. The
+ :c:func:`wait_event()` version ignores signals.
+
+ Waking Up Queued Tasks
+ ----------------------
+
+ Call :c:func:`wake_up()` (``include/linux/wait.h``);, which will wake
+ up every process in the queue. The exception is if one has
+ ``TASK_EXCLUSIVE`` set, in which case the remainder of the queue will
+ not be woken. There are other variants of this basic function available
+ in the same header.
+
+ Atomic Operations
+ =================
+
+ Certain operations are guaranteed atomic on all platforms. The first
+ class of operations work on :c:type:`atomic_t` (``include/asm/atomic.h``);
+ this contains a signed integer (at least 32 bits long), and you must use
+ these functions to manipulate or read :c:type:`atomic_t` variables.
+ :c:func:`atomic_read()` and :c:func:`atomic_set()` get and set
+ the counter, :c:func:`atomic_add()`, :c:func:`atomic_sub()`,
+ :c:func:`atomic_inc()`, :c:func:`atomic_dec()`, and
+ :c:func:`atomic_dec_and_test()` (returns true if it was
+ decremented to zero).
+
+ Yes. It returns true (i.e. != 0) if the atomic variable is zero.
+
+ Note that these functions are slower than normal arithmetic, and so
+ should not be used unnecessarily.
+
+ The second class of atomic operations is atomic bit operations on an
+ ``unsigned long``, defined in ``include/linux/bitops.h``. These
+ operations generally take a pointer to the bit pattern, and a bit
+ number: 0 is the least significant bit. :c:func:`set_bit()`,
+ :c:func:`clear_bit()` and :c:func:`change_bit()` set, clear,
+ and flip the given bit. :c:func:`test_and_set_bit()`,
+ :c:func:`test_and_clear_bit()` and
+ :c:func:`test_and_change_bit()` do the same thing, except return
+ true if the bit was previously set; these are particularly useful for
+ atomically setting flags.
+
+ It is possible to call these operations with bit indices greater than
+ ``BITS_PER_LONG``. The resulting behavior is strange on big-endian
+ platforms though so it is a good idea not to do this.
+
+ Symbols
+ =======
+
+ Within the kernel proper, the normal linking rules apply (ie. unless a
+ symbol is declared to be file scope with the ``static`` keyword, it can
+ be used anywhere in the kernel). However, for modules, a special
+ exported symbol table is kept which limits the entry points to the
+ kernel proper. Modules can also export symbols.
+
+ :c:func:`EXPORT_SYMBOL()`
+ -------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/export.h``
+
+ This is the classic method of exporting a symbol: dynamically loaded
+ modules will be able to use the symbol as normal.
+
+ :c:func:`EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL()`
+ -----------------------------
+
+ Defined in ``include/linux/export.h``
+
+ Similar to :c:func:`EXPORT_SYMBOL()` except that the symbols
+ exported by :c:func:`EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL()` can only be seen by
+ modules with a :c:func:`MODULE_LICENSE()` that specifies a GPL
+ compatible license. It implies that the function is considered an
+ internal implementation issue, and not really an interface. Some
+ maintainers and developers may however require EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL()
+ when adding any new APIs or functionality.
+
+ Routines and Conventions
+ ========================
+
+ Double-linked lists ``include/linux/list.h``
+ --------------------------------------------
+
+ There used to be three sets of linked-list routines in the kernel
+ headers, but this one is the winner. If you don't have some particular
+ pressing need for a single list, it's a good choice.
+
+ In particular, :c:func:`list_for_each_entry()` is useful.
+
+ Return Conventions
+ ------------------
+
+ For code called in user context, it's very common to defy C convention,
+ and return 0 for success, and a negative error number (eg. ``-EFAULT``) for
+ failure. This can be unintuitive at first, but it's fairly widespread in
+ the kernel.
+
+ Using :c:func:`ERR_PTR()` (``include/linux/err.h``) to encode a
+ negative error number into a pointer, and :c:func:`IS_ERR()` and
+ :c:func:`PTR_ERR()` to get it back out again: avoids a separate
+ pointer parameter for the error number. Icky, but in a good way.
+
+ Breaking Compilation
+ --------------------
+
+ Linus and the other developers sometimes change function or structure
+ names in development kernels; this is not done just to keep everyone on
+ their toes: it reflects a fundamental change (eg. can no longer be
+ called with interrupts on, or does extra checks, or doesn't do checks
+ which were caught before). Usually this is accompanied by a fairly
+ complete note to the linux-kernel mailing list; search the archive.
+ Simply doing a global replace on the file usually makes things **worse**.
+
+ Initializing structure members
+ ------------------------------
+
+ The preferred method of initializing structures is to use designated
+ initialisers, as defined by ISO C99, eg::
+
+ static struct block_device_operations opt_fops = {
+ .open = opt_open,
+ .release = opt_release,
+ .ioctl = opt_ioctl,
+ .check_media_change = opt_media_change,
+ };
+
+
+ This makes it easy to grep for, and makes it clear which structure
+ fields are set. You should do this because it looks cool.
+
+ GNU Extensions
+ --------------
+
+ GNU Extensions are explicitly allowed in the Linux kernel. Note that
+ some of the more complex ones are not very well supported, due to lack
+ of general use, but the following are considered standard (see the GCC
+ info page section "C Extensions" for more details - Yes, really the info
+ page, the man page is only a short summary of the stuff in info).
+
+ - Inline functions
+
+ - Statement expressions (ie. the ({ and }) constructs).
+
+ - Declaring attributes of a function / variable / type
+ (__attribute__)
+
+ - typeof
+
+ - Zero length arrays
+
+ - Macro varargs
+
+ - Arithmetic on void pointers
+
+ - Non-Constant initializers
+
+ - Assembler Instructions (not outside arch/ and include/asm/)
+
+ - Function names as strings (__func__).
+
+ - __builtin_constant_p()
+
+ Be wary when using long long in the kernel, the code gcc generates for
+ it is horrible and worse: division and multiplication does not work on
+ i386 because the GCC runtime functions for it are missing from the
+ kernel environment.
+
+ C++
+ ---
+
+ Using C++ in the kernel is usually a bad idea, because the kernel does
+ not provide the necessary runtime environment and the include files are
+ not tested for it. It is still possible, but not recommended. If you
+ really want to do this, forget about exceptions at least.
+
+ NUMif
+ -----
+
+ It is generally considered cleaner to use macros in header files (or at
+ the top of .c files) to abstract away functions rather than using \`#if'
+ pre-processor statements throughout the source code.
+
+ Putting Your Stuff in the Kernel
+ ================================
+
+ In order to get your stuff into shape for official inclusion, or even to
+ make a neat patch, there's administrative work to be done:
+
+ - Figure out whose pond you've been pissing in. Look at the top of the
+ source files, inside the ``MAINTAINERS`` file, and last of all in the
+ ``CREDITS`` file. You should coordinate with this person to make sure
+ you're not duplicating effort, or trying something that's already
+ been rejected.
+
+ Make sure you put your name and EMail address at the top of any files
+ you create or mangle significantly. This is the first place people
+ will look when they find a bug, or when **they** want to make a change.
+
+ - Usually you want a configuration option for your kernel hack. Edit
+ ``Kconfig`` in the appropriate directory. The Config language is
+ simple to use by cut and paste, and there's complete documentation in
+ ``Documentation/kbuild/kconfig-language.txt``.
+
+ In your description of the option, make sure you address both the
+ expert user and the user who knows nothing about your feature.
+ Mention incompatibilities and issues here. **Definitely** end your
+ description with “if in doubt, say N” (or, occasionally, \`Y'); this
+ is for people who have no idea what you are talking about.
+
+ - Edit the ``Makefile``: the CONFIG variables are exported here so you
+ can usually just add a "obj-$(CONFIG_xxx) += xxx.o" line. The syntax
+ is documented in ``Documentation/kbuild/makefiles.txt``.
+
+ - Put yourself in ``CREDITS`` if you've done something noteworthy,
+ usually beyond a single file (your name should be at the top of the
+ source files anyway). ``MAINTAINERS`` means you want to be consulted
+ when changes are made to a subsystem, and hear about bugs; it implies
+ a more-than-passing commitment to some part of the code.
+
+ - Finally, don't forget to read
+ ``Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst`` and possibly
+ ``Documentation/process/submitting-drivers.rst``.
+
+ Kernel Cantrips
+ ===============
+
+ Some favorites from browsing the source. Feel free to add to this list.
+
+ ``arch/x86/include/asm/delay.h``::
+
+ #define ndelay(n) (__builtin_constant_p(n) ? \
+ ((n) > 20000 ? __bad_ndelay() : __const_udelay((n) * 5ul)) : \
+ __ndelay(n))
+
+
+ ``include/linux/fs.h``::
+
+ /*
+ * Kernel pointers have redundant information, so we can use a
+ * scheme where we can return either an error code or a dentry
+ * pointer with the same return value.
+ *
+ * This should be a per-architecture thing, to allow different
+ * error and pointer decisions.
+ */
+ #define ERR_PTR(err) ((void *)((long)(err)))
+ #define PTR_ERR(ptr) ((long)(ptr))
+ #define IS_ERR(ptr) ((unsigned long)(ptr) > (unsigned long)(-1000))
+
+ ``arch/x86/include/asm/uaccess_32.h:``::
+
+ #define copy_to_user(to,from,n) \
+ (__builtin_constant_p(n) ? \
+ __constant_copy_to_user((to),(from),(n)) : \
+ __generic_copy_to_user((to),(from),(n)))
+
+
+ ``arch/sparc/kernel/head.S:``::
+
+ /*
+ * Sun people can't spell worth damn. "compatability" indeed.
+ * At least we *know* we can't spell, and use a spell-checker.
+ */
+
+ /* Uh, actually Linus it is I who cannot spell. Too much murky
+ * Sparc assembly will do this to ya.
+ */
+ C_LABEL(cputypvar):
+ .asciz "compatibility"
+
+ /* Tested on SS-5, SS-10. Probably someone at Sun applied a spell-checker. */
+ .align 4
+ C_LABEL(cputypvar_sun4m):
+ .asciz "compatible"
+
+
+ ``arch/sparc/lib/checksum.S:``::
+
+ /* Sun, you just can't beat me, you just can't. Stop trying,
+ * give up. I'm serious, I am going to kick the living shit
+ * out of you, game over, lights out.
+ */
+
+
+ Thanks
+ ======
+
+ Thanks to Andi Kleen for the idea, answering my questions, fixing my
+ mistakes, filling content, etc. Philipp Rumpf for more spelling and
+ clarity fixes, and some excellent non-obvious points. Werner Almesberger
+ for giving me a great summary of :c:func:`disable_irq()`, and Jes
+ Sorensen and Andrea Arcangeli added caveats. Michael Elizabeth Chastain
+ for checking and adding to the Configure section. Telsa Gwynne for
+ teaching me DocBook.
projects / karo-tx-linux.git / commitdiff