Merge second patch-bomb from Andrew Morton: - the rest of MM - zram updates - zswap updates - exit - procfs - exec - wait - crash dump - lib/idr - rapidio - adfs, affs, bfs, ufs - cris - Kconfig things - initramfs - small amount of IPC material - percpu enhancements - early ioremap support - various other misc things * emailed patches from Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>: (156 commits) MAINTAINERS: update Intel C600 SAS driver maintainers fs/ufs: remove unused ufs_super_block_third pointer fs/ufs: remove unused ufs_super_block_second pointer fs/ufs: remove unused ufs_super_block_first pointer fs/ufs/super.c: add __init to init_inodecache() doc/kernel-parameters.txt: add early_ioremap_debug arm64: add early_ioremap support arm64: initialize pgprot info earlier in boot x86: use generic early_ioremap mm: create generic early_ioremap() support x86/mm: sparse warning fix for early_memremap lglock: map to spinlock when !CONFIG_SMP percpu: add preemption checks to __this_cpu ops vmstat: use raw_cpu_ops to avoid false positives on preemption checks slub: use raw_cpu_inc for incrementing statistics net: replace __this_cpu_inc in route.c with raw_cpu_inc modules: use raw_cpu_write for initialization of per cpu refcount. mm: use raw_cpu ops for determining current NUMA node percpu: add raw_cpu_ops slub: fix leak of 'name' in sysfs_slab_add ...
		
			
				
	
	
		
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			1310 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			42 KiB
			
		
	
	
	
		
			XML
		
	
	
	
	
	
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 | 
						|
<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.1.2//EN"
 | 
						|
	"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.1.2/docbookx.dtd" []>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
<book id="lk-hacking-guide">
 | 
						|
 <bookinfo>
 | 
						|
  <title>Unreliable Guide To Hacking The Linux Kernel</title>
 | 
						|
  
 | 
						|
  <authorgroup>
 | 
						|
   <author>
 | 
						|
    <firstname>Rusty</firstname>
 | 
						|
    <surname>Russell</surname>
 | 
						|
    <affiliation>
 | 
						|
     <address>
 | 
						|
      <email>rusty@rustcorp.com.au</email>
 | 
						|
     </address>
 | 
						|
    </affiliation>
 | 
						|
   </author>
 | 
						|
  </authorgroup>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <copyright>
 | 
						|
   <year>2005</year>
 | 
						|
   <holder>Rusty Russell</holder>
 | 
						|
  </copyright>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <legalnotice>
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    This documentation is free software; you can redistribute
 | 
						|
    it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
 | 
						|
    License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
 | 
						|
    version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
 | 
						|
    version.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be
 | 
						|
    useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
 | 
						|
    warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
 | 
						|
    See the GNU General Public License for more details.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
 | 
						|
    License along with this program; if not, write to the Free
 | 
						|
    Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston,
 | 
						|
    MA 02111-1307 USA
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    For more details see the file COPYING in the source
 | 
						|
    distribution of Linux.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </legalnotice>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <releaseinfo>
 | 
						|
   This is the first release of this document as part of the kernel tarball.
 | 
						|
  </releaseinfo>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 </bookinfo>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <toc></toc>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="introduction">
 | 
						|
  <title>Introduction</title>
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="basic-players">
 | 
						|
  <title>The Players</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   At any time each of the CPUs in a system can be:
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <itemizedlist>
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     not associated with any process, serving a hardware interrupt;
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     not associated with any process, serving a softirq or tasklet;
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     running in kernel space, associated with a process (user context);
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     running a process in user space.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
  </itemizedlist>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   We'll see a number of ways that the user context can block
 | 
						|
   interrupts, to become truly non-preemptable.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
  
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="basics-usercontext">
 | 
						|
   <title>User Context</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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
 | 
						|
    <function>schedule()</function>.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <note>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     You are always in user context on module load and unload,
 | 
						|
     and on operations on the block device layer.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </note>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    In user context, the <varname>current</varname> pointer (indicating 
 | 
						|
    the task we are currently executing) is valid, and
 | 
						|
    <function>in_interrupt()</function>
 | 
						|
    (<filename>include/linux/interrupt.h</filename>) is <returnvalue>false
 | 
						|
    </returnvalue>.  
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <caution>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     Beware that if you have preemption or softirqs disabled
 | 
						|
     (see below), <function>in_interrupt()</function> will return a 
 | 
						|
     false positive.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </caution>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="basics-hardirqs">
 | 
						|
   <title>Hardware Interrupts (Hard IRQs)</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Timer ticks, <hardware>network cards</hardware> and 
 | 
						|
    <hardware>keyboard</hardware> 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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    You can tell you are in a hardware interrupt, because 
 | 
						|
    <function>in_irq()</function> returns <returnvalue>true</returnvalue>.  
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   <caution>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     Beware that this will return a false positive if interrupts are disabled 
 | 
						|
     (see below).
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </caution>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="basics-softirqs">
 | 
						|
   <title>Software Interrupt Context: Softirqs and Tasklets</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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 (<filename>kernel/softirq.c</filename>).
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Much of the real interrupt handling work is done here.  Early in
 | 
						|
    the transition to <acronym>SMP</acronym>, 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'.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/interrupt.h</filename> lists the
 | 
						|
    different softirqs.  A very important softirq is the
 | 
						|
    timer softirq (<filename
 | 
						|
    class="headerfile">include/linux/timer.h</filename>): you can
 | 
						|
    register to have it call functions for you in a given length of
 | 
						|
    time.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Softirqs are often a pain to deal with, since the same softirq
 | 
						|
    will run simultaneously on more than one CPU.  For this reason,
 | 
						|
    tasklets (<filename
 | 
						|
    class="headerfile">include/linux/interrupt.h</filename>) 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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   <caution>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     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.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </caution>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    You can tell you are in a softirq (or tasklet)
 | 
						|
    using the <function>in_softirq()</function> macro 
 | 
						|
    (<filename class="headerfile">include/linux/interrupt.h</filename>).
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   <caution>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     Beware that this will return a false positive if a bh lock (see below)
 | 
						|
     is held.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </caution>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="basic-rules">
 | 
						|
  <title>Some Basic Rules</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <variablelist>
 | 
						|
   <varlistentry>
 | 
						|
    <term>No memory protection</term>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      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?
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
   </varlistentry>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <varlistentry>
 | 
						|
    <term>No floating point or <acronym>MMX</acronym></term>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      The <acronym>FPU</acronym> context is not saved; even in user
 | 
						|
      context the <acronym>FPU</acronym> state probably won't
 | 
						|
      correspond with the current process: you would mess with some
 | 
						|
      user process' <acronym>FPU</acronym> state.  If you really want
 | 
						|
      to do this, you would have to explicitly save/restore the full
 | 
						|
      <acronym>FPU</acronym> state (and avoid context switches).  It
 | 
						|
      is generally a bad idea; use fixed point arithmetic first.
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
   </varlistentry>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <varlistentry>
 | 
						|
    <term>A rigid stack limit</term>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      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).
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
   </varlistentry>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <varlistentry>
 | 
						|
    <term>The Linux kernel is portable</term>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      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.
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
   </varlistentry>
 | 
						|
  </variablelist>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="ioctls">
 | 
						|
  <title>ioctls: Not writing a new system call</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   A system call generally looks like this
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <programlisting>
 | 
						|
asmlinkage long sys_mycall(int arg)
 | 
						|
{
 | 
						|
        return 0; 
 | 
						|
}
 | 
						|
  </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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
 | 
						|
   <filename class="headerfile">include/asm/unistd.h</filename> and
 | 
						|
   <filename>arch/kernel/entry.S</filename> file, and is much more
 | 
						|
   likely to be accepted by Linus.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   If all your routine does is read or write some parameter, consider
 | 
						|
   implementing a <function>sysfs</function> interface instead.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   Inside the ioctl you're in user context to a process.  When a
 | 
						|
   error occurs you return a negated errno (see
 | 
						|
   <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/errno.h</filename>),
 | 
						|
   otherwise you return <returnvalue>0</returnvalue>.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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 <constant>-ERESTARTSYS</constant> 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.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <programlisting>
 | 
						|
if (signal_pending(current))
 | 
						|
        return -ERESTARTSYS;
 | 
						|
  </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   If you're doing longer computations: first think userspace. If you
 | 
						|
   <emphasis>really</emphasis> 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:
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <programlisting>
 | 
						|
cond_resched(); /* Will sleep */ 
 | 
						|
  </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   A short note on interface design: the UNIX system call motto is
 | 
						|
   "Provide mechanism not policy".
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="deadlock-recipes">
 | 
						|
  <title>Recipes for Deadlock</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   You cannot call any routines which may sleep, unless:
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
  <itemizedlist>
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     You are in user context.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     You do not own any spinlocks.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     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).
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
  </itemizedlist>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   Note that some functions may sleep implicitly: common ones are
 | 
						|
   the user space access functions (*_user) and memory allocation
 | 
						|
   functions without <symbol>GFP_ATOMIC</symbol>.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   You should always compile your kernel
 | 
						|
   <symbol>CONFIG_DEBUG_ATOMIC_SLEEP</symbol> on, and it will warn
 | 
						|
   you if you break these rules.  If you <emphasis>do</emphasis> break
 | 
						|
   the rules, you will eventually lock up your box.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   Really.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="common-routines">
 | 
						|
  <title>Common Routines</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-printk">
 | 
						|
   <title>
 | 
						|
    <function>printk()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/kernel.h</filename>
 | 
						|
   </title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    <function>printk()</function> 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:
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <programlisting>
 | 
						|
printk(KERN_INFO "i = %u\n", i);
 | 
						|
   </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    See <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/kernel.h</filename>;
 | 
						|
    for other KERN_ values; these are interpreted by syslog as the
 | 
						|
    level.  Special case: for printing an IP address use
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <programlisting>
 | 
						|
__be32 ipaddress;
 | 
						|
printk(KERN_INFO "my ip: %pI4\n", &ipaddress);
 | 
						|
   </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    <function>printk()</function> internally uses a 1K buffer and does
 | 
						|
    not catch overruns.  Make sure that will be enough.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <note>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     You will know when you are a real kernel hacker
 | 
						|
     when you start typoing printf as printk in your user programs :)
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </note>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <!--- From the Lions book reader department --> 
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <note>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     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.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </note>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-copy">
 | 
						|
   <title>
 | 
						|
    <function>copy_[to/from]_user()</function>
 | 
						|
    /
 | 
						|
    <function>get_user()</function>
 | 
						|
    /
 | 
						|
    <function>put_user()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/asm/uaccess.h</filename>
 | 
						|
   </title>  
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    <emphasis>[SLEEPS]</emphasis>
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    <function>put_user()</function> and <function>get_user()</function>
 | 
						|
    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 <constant>-EFAULT</constant> or 0.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    <function>copy_to_user()</function> and
 | 
						|
    <function>copy_from_user()</function> are more general: they copy
 | 
						|
    an arbitrary amount of data to and from userspace.
 | 
						|
    <caution>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Unlike <function>put_user()</function> and
 | 
						|
      <function>get_user()</function>, they return the amount of
 | 
						|
      uncopied data (ie. <returnvalue>0</returnvalue> still means
 | 
						|
      success).
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </caution>
 | 
						|
    [Yes, this moronic interface makes me cringe.  The flamewar comes up every year or so. --RR.]
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    The functions may sleep implicitly. This should never be called
 | 
						|
    outside user context (it makes no sense), with interrupts
 | 
						|
    disabled, or a spinlock held.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-kmalloc">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>kmalloc()</function>/<function>kfree()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/slab.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    <emphasis>[MAY SLEEP: SEE BELOW]</emphasis>
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    These routines are used to dynamically request pointer-aligned
 | 
						|
    chunks of memory, like malloc and free do in userspace, but
 | 
						|
    <function>kmalloc()</function> takes an extra flag word.
 | 
						|
    Important values:
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <variablelist>
 | 
						|
    <varlistentry>
 | 
						|
     <term>
 | 
						|
      <constant>
 | 
						|
       GFP_KERNEL
 | 
						|
      </constant>
 | 
						|
     </term>
 | 
						|
     <listitem>
 | 
						|
      <para>
 | 
						|
       May sleep and swap to free memory. Only allowed in user
 | 
						|
       context, but is the most reliable way to allocate memory.
 | 
						|
      </para>
 | 
						|
     </listitem>
 | 
						|
    </varlistentry>
 | 
						|
    
 | 
						|
    <varlistentry>
 | 
						|
     <term>
 | 
						|
      <constant>
 | 
						|
       GFP_ATOMIC
 | 
						|
      </constant>
 | 
						|
     </term>
 | 
						|
     <listitem>
 | 
						|
      <para>
 | 
						|
       Don't sleep. Less reliable than <constant>GFP_KERNEL</constant>,
 | 
						|
       but may be called from interrupt context. You should
 | 
						|
       <emphasis>really</emphasis> have a good out-of-memory
 | 
						|
       error-handling strategy.
 | 
						|
      </para>
 | 
						|
     </listitem>
 | 
						|
    </varlistentry>
 | 
						|
    
 | 
						|
    <varlistentry>
 | 
						|
     <term>
 | 
						|
      <constant>
 | 
						|
       GFP_DMA
 | 
						|
      </constant>
 | 
						|
     </term>
 | 
						|
     <listitem>
 | 
						|
      <para>
 | 
						|
       Allocate ISA DMA lower than 16MB. If you don't know what that
 | 
						|
       is you don't need it.  Very unreliable.
 | 
						|
      </para>
 | 
						|
     </listitem>
 | 
						|
    </varlistentry>
 | 
						|
   </variablelist>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    If you see a <errorname>sleeping function called from invalid
 | 
						|
    context</errorname> warning message, then maybe you called a
 | 
						|
    sleeping allocation function from interrupt context without
 | 
						|
    <constant>GFP_ATOMIC</constant>.  You should really fix that.
 | 
						|
    Run, don't walk.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    If you are allocating at least <constant>PAGE_SIZE</constant>
 | 
						|
    (<filename class="headerfile">include/asm/page.h</filename>) bytes,
 | 
						|
    consider using <function>__get_free_pages()</function>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
    (<filename class="headerfile">include/linux/mm.h</filename>).  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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    If you are allocating more than a page worth of bytes you can use
 | 
						|
    <function>vmalloc()</function>.  It'll allocate virtual memory in
 | 
						|
    the kernel map.  This block is not contiguous in physical memory,
 | 
						|
    but the <acronym>MMU</acronym> 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 <function>alloc_bootmem()</function>
 | 
						|
    routine.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Before inventing your own cache of often-used objects consider
 | 
						|
    using a slab cache in
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/slab.h</filename>
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-current">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>current</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/asm/current.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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
 | 
						|
    <emphasis>not NULL</emphasis> in interrupt context.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-udelay">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>mdelay()</function>/<function>udelay()</function>
 | 
						|
     <filename class="headerfile">include/asm/delay.h</filename>
 | 
						|
     <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/delay.h</filename>
 | 
						|
   </title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    The <function>udelay()</function> and <function>ndelay()</function> functions can be used for small pauses.
 | 
						|
    Do not use large values with them as you risk
 | 
						|
    overflow - the helper function <function>mdelay()</function> is useful
 | 
						|
    here, or consider <function>msleep()</function>.
 | 
						|
   </para> 
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-endian">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>cpu_to_be32()</function>/<function>be32_to_cpu()</function>/<function>cpu_to_le32()</function>/<function>le32_to_cpu()</function>
 | 
						|
     <filename class="headerfile">include/asm/byteorder.h</filename>
 | 
						|
   </title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    The <function>cpu_to_be32()</function> 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: <function>be32_to_cpu()</function>, etc.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    There are two major variations of these functions: the pointer
 | 
						|
    variation, such as <function>cpu_to_be32p()</function>, which take
 | 
						|
    a pointer to the given type, and return the converted value.  The
 | 
						|
    other variation is the "in-situ" family, such as
 | 
						|
    <function>cpu_to_be32s()</function>, which convert value referred
 | 
						|
    to by the pointer, and return void.
 | 
						|
   </para> 
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-local-irqs">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>local_irq_save()</function>/<function>local_irq_restore()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/irqflags.h</filename>
 | 
						|
   </title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    These routines disable hard interrupts on the local CPU, and
 | 
						|
    restore them.  They are reentrant; saving the previous state in
 | 
						|
    their one <varname>unsigned long flags</varname> argument.  If you
 | 
						|
    know that interrupts are enabled, you can simply use
 | 
						|
    <function>local_irq_disable()</function> and
 | 
						|
    <function>local_irq_enable()</function>.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-softirqs">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>local_bh_disable()</function>/<function>local_bh_enable()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/interrupt.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-processorids">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>smp_processor_id</function>()
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/asm/smp.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    <function>get_cpu()</function> disables preemption (so you won't
 | 
						|
    suddenly get moved to another CPU) and returns the current
 | 
						|
    processor number, between 0 and <symbol>NR_CPUS</symbol>.  Note
 | 
						|
    that the CPU numbers are not necessarily continuous.  You return
 | 
						|
    it again with <function>put_cpu()</function> when you are done.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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().
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-init">
 | 
						|
   <title><type>__init</type>/<type>__exit</type>/<type>__initdata</type>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/init.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    After boot, the kernel frees up a special section; functions
 | 
						|
    marked with <type>__init</type> and data structures marked with
 | 
						|
    <type>__initdata</type> are dropped after boot is complete: similarly
 | 
						|
    modules discard this memory after initialization.  <type>__exit</type>
 | 
						|
    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 <type>__init</type> to be exported to modules with 
 | 
						|
    <function>EXPORT_SYMBOL()</function> - this will break.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-init-again">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>__initcall()</function>/<function>module_init()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/init.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Many parts of the kernel are well served as a module
 | 
						|
    (dynamically-loadable parts of the kernel).  Using the
 | 
						|
    <function>module_init()</function> and
 | 
						|
    <function>module_exit()</function> macros it is easy to write code
 | 
						|
    without #ifdefs which can operate both as a module or built into
 | 
						|
    the kernel.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    The <function>module_init()</function> 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 <function>module_init()</function> macro
 | 
						|
    becomes equivalent to <function>__initcall()</function>, which
 | 
						|
    through linker magic ensures that the function is called on boot.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
  
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-moduleexit">
 | 
						|
   <title> <function>module_exit()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/init.h</filename> </title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Note that this macro is optional: if it is not present, your
 | 
						|
    module will not be removable (except for 'rmmod -f').
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="routines-module-use-counters">
 | 
						|
   <title> <function>try_module_get()</function>/<function>module_put()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/module.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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 <function>try_module_get()</function> 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 <function>module_put()</function> when you're
 | 
						|
    finished.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
   Most registerable structures have an
 | 
						|
   <structfield>owner</structfield> field, such as in the
 | 
						|
   <structname>file_operations</structname> structure. Set this field
 | 
						|
   to the macro <symbol>THIS_MODULE</symbol>.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <!-- add info on new-style module refcounting here -->
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="queues">
 | 
						|
  <title>Wait Queues
 | 
						|
   <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/wait.h</filename>
 | 
						|
  </title>
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   <emphasis>[SLEEPS]</emphasis>
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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
 | 
						|
   <type>wait_queue_head_t</type>, and then processes which want to
 | 
						|
   wait for that condition declare a <type>wait_queue_t</type>
 | 
						|
   referring to themselves, and place that in the queue.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="queue-declaring">
 | 
						|
   <title>Declaring</title>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    You declare a <type>wait_queue_head_t</type> using the
 | 
						|
    <function>DECLARE_WAIT_QUEUE_HEAD()</function> macro, or using the
 | 
						|
    <function>init_waitqueue_head()</function> routine in your
 | 
						|
    initialization code.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
  
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="queue-waitqueue">
 | 
						|
   <title>Queuing</title>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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:
 | 
						|
    <function>wait_event_interruptible()</function>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/wait.h</filename> The
 | 
						|
    first argument is the wait queue head, and the second is an
 | 
						|
    expression which is evaluated; the macro returns
 | 
						|
    <returnvalue>0</returnvalue> when this expression is true, or
 | 
						|
    <returnvalue>-ERESTARTSYS</returnvalue> if a signal is received.
 | 
						|
    The <function>wait_event()</function> version ignores signals.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="queue-waking">
 | 
						|
   <title>Waking Up Queued Tasks</title>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Call <function>wake_up()</function>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/wait.h</filename>;,
 | 
						|
    which will wake up every process in the queue.  The exception is
 | 
						|
    if one has <constant>TASK_EXCLUSIVE</constant> 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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="atomic-ops">
 | 
						|
  <title>Atomic Operations</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   Certain operations are guaranteed atomic on all platforms.  The
 | 
						|
   first class of operations work on <type>atomic_t</type>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <filename class="headerfile">include/asm/atomic.h</filename>; this
 | 
						|
   contains a signed integer (at least 32 bits long), and you must use
 | 
						|
   these functions to manipulate or read atomic_t variables.
 | 
						|
   <function>atomic_read()</function> and
 | 
						|
   <function>atomic_set()</function> get and set the counter,
 | 
						|
   <function>atomic_add()</function>,
 | 
						|
   <function>atomic_sub()</function>,
 | 
						|
   <function>atomic_inc()</function>,
 | 
						|
   <function>atomic_dec()</function>, and
 | 
						|
   <function>atomic_dec_and_test()</function> (returns
 | 
						|
   <returnvalue>true</returnvalue> if it was decremented to zero).
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   Yes.  It returns <returnvalue>true</returnvalue> (i.e. != 0) if the
 | 
						|
   atomic variable is zero.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   Note that these functions are slower than normal arithmetic, and
 | 
						|
   so should not be used unnecessarily.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   The second class of atomic operations is atomic bit operations on an
 | 
						|
   <type>unsigned long</type>, defined in
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/bitops.h</filename>.  These
 | 
						|
   operations generally take a pointer to the bit pattern, and a bit
 | 
						|
   number: 0 is the least significant bit.
 | 
						|
   <function>set_bit()</function>, <function>clear_bit()</function>
 | 
						|
   and <function>change_bit()</function> set, clear, and flip the
 | 
						|
   given bit.  <function>test_and_set_bit()</function>,
 | 
						|
   <function>test_and_clear_bit()</function> and
 | 
						|
   <function>test_and_change_bit()</function> do the same thing,
 | 
						|
   except return true if the bit was previously set; these are
 | 
						|
   particularly useful for atomically setting flags.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
  
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="symbols">
 | 
						|
  <title>Symbols</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   Within the kernel proper, the normal linking rules apply
 | 
						|
   (ie. unless a symbol is declared to be file scope with the
 | 
						|
   <type>static</type> 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.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="sym-exportsymbols">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>EXPORT_SYMBOL()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/export.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    This is the classic method of exporting a symbol: dynamically
 | 
						|
    loaded modules will be able to use the symbol as normal.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="sym-exportsymbols-gpl">
 | 
						|
   <title><function>EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL()</function>
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/export.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Similar to <function>EXPORT_SYMBOL()</function> except that the
 | 
						|
    symbols exported by <function>EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL()</function> can
 | 
						|
    only be seen by modules with a
 | 
						|
    <function>MODULE_LICENSE()</function> that specifies a GPL
 | 
						|
    compatible license.  It implies that the function is considered
 | 
						|
    an internal implementation issue, and not really an interface.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="conventions">
 | 
						|
  <title>Routines and Conventions</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="conventions-doublelinkedlist">
 | 
						|
   <title>Double-linked lists
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/list.h</filename></title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    In particular, <function>list_for_each_entry</function> is useful.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="convention-returns">
 | 
						|
   <title>Return Conventions</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    For code called in user context, it's very common to defy C
 | 
						|
    convention, and return <returnvalue>0</returnvalue> for success,
 | 
						|
    and a negative error number
 | 
						|
    (eg. <returnvalue>-EFAULT</returnvalue>) for failure.  This can be
 | 
						|
    unintuitive at first, but it's fairly widespread in the kernel.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    Using <function>ERR_PTR()</function>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
    <filename class="headerfile">include/linux/err.h</filename>; to
 | 
						|
    encode a negative error number into a pointer, and
 | 
						|
    <function>IS_ERR()</function> and <function>PTR_ERR()</function>
 | 
						|
    to get it back out again: avoids a separate pointer parameter for
 | 
						|
    the error number.  Icky, but in a good way.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="conventions-borkedcompile">
 | 
						|
   <title>Breaking Compilation</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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 <emphasis>worse</emphasis>.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="conventions-initialising">
 | 
						|
   <title>Initializing structure members</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    The preferred method of initializing structures is to use
 | 
						|
    designated initialisers, as defined by ISO C99, eg:
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   <programlisting>
 | 
						|
static struct block_device_operations opt_fops = {
 | 
						|
        .open               = opt_open,
 | 
						|
        .release            = opt_release,
 | 
						|
        .ioctl              = opt_ioctl,
 | 
						|
        .check_media_change = opt_media_change,
 | 
						|
};
 | 
						|
   </programlisting>
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    This makes it easy to grep for, and makes it clear which
 | 
						|
    structure fields are set.  You should do this because it looks
 | 
						|
    cool.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="conventions-gnu-extns">
 | 
						|
   <title>GNU Extensions</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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).
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
   <itemizedlist>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Inline functions
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Statement expressions (ie. the ({ and }) constructs).
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Declaring attributes of a function / variable / type
 | 
						|
      (__attribute__)
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      typeof
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Zero length arrays
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Macro varargs
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Arithmetic on void pointers
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Non-Constant initializers
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Assembler Instructions (not outside arch/ and include/asm/)
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      Function names as strings (__func__).
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
    <listitem>
 | 
						|
     <para>
 | 
						|
      __builtin_constant_p()
 | 
						|
     </para>
 | 
						|
    </listitem>
 | 
						|
   </itemizedlist>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
    <!-- FIXME: add a note about ANSI aliasing cleanness -->
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="conventions-cplusplus">
 | 
						|
   <title>C++</title>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <sect1 id="conventions-ifdef">
 | 
						|
   <title>#if</title>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <para>
 | 
						|
    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.
 | 
						|
   </para>
 | 
						|
  </sect1>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="submitting">
 | 
						|
  <title>Putting Your Stuff in the Kernel</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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:
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
  <itemizedlist>
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     Figure out whose pond you've been pissing in.  Look at the top of
 | 
						|
     the source files, inside the <filename>MAINTAINERS</filename>
 | 
						|
     file, and last of all in the <filename>CREDITS</filename> file.
 | 
						|
     You should coordinate with this person to make sure you're not
 | 
						|
     duplicating effort, or trying something that's already been
 | 
						|
     rejected.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     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
 | 
						|
     <emphasis>they</emphasis> want to make a change.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     Usually you want a configuration option for your kernel hack.
 | 
						|
     Edit <filename>Kconfig</filename> in the appropriate directory.
 | 
						|
     The Config language is simple to use by cut and paste, and there's
 | 
						|
     complete documentation in
 | 
						|
     <filename>Documentation/kbuild/kconfig-language.txt</filename>.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     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.  <emphasis> Definitely
 | 
						|
     </emphasis> end your description with <quote> if in doubt, say N
 | 
						|
     </quote> (or, occasionally, `Y'); this is for people who have no
 | 
						|
     idea what you are talking about.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     Edit the <filename>Makefile</filename>: the CONFIG variables are
 | 
						|
     exported here so you can usually just add a "obj-$(CONFIG_xxx) +=
 | 
						|
     xxx.o" line.  The syntax is documented in
 | 
						|
     <filename>Documentation/kbuild/makefiles.txt</filename>.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     Put yourself in <filename>CREDITS</filename> if you've done
 | 
						|
     something noteworthy, usually beyond a single file (your name
 | 
						|
     should be at the top of the source files anyway).
 | 
						|
     <filename>MAINTAINERS</filename> 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.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
   
 | 
						|
   <listitem>
 | 
						|
    <para>
 | 
						|
     Finally, don't forget to read <filename>Documentation/SubmittingPatches</filename>
 | 
						|
     and possibly <filename>Documentation/SubmittingDrivers</filename>.
 | 
						|
    </para>
 | 
						|
   </listitem>
 | 
						|
  </itemizedlist>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="cantrips">
 | 
						|
  <title>Kernel Cantrips</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   Some favorites from browsing the source.  Feel free to add to this
 | 
						|
   list.
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   <filename>arch/x86/include/asm/delay.h:</filename>
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
  <programlisting>
 | 
						|
#define ndelay(n) (__builtin_constant_p(n) ? \
 | 
						|
        ((n) > 20000 ? __bad_ndelay() : __const_udelay((n) * 5ul)) : \
 | 
						|
        __ndelay(n))
 | 
						|
  </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   <filename>include/linux/fs.h</filename>:
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
  <programlisting>
 | 
						|
/*
 | 
						|
 * 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))
 | 
						|
</programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   <filename>arch/x86/include/asm/uaccess_32.h:</filename>
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <programlisting>
 | 
						|
#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)))
 | 
						|
  </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   <filename>arch/sparc/kernel/head.S:</filename>
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <programlisting>
 | 
						|
/*
 | 
						|
 * 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"
 | 
						|
  </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   <filename>arch/sparc/lib/checksum.S:</filename>
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <programlisting>
 | 
						|
        /* 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.
 | 
						|
         */
 | 
						|
  </programlisting>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 <chapter id="credits">
 | 
						|
  <title>Thanks</title>
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
  <para>
 | 
						|
   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
 | 
						|
   <function>disable_irq()</function>, and Jes Sorensen and Andrea
 | 
						|
   Arcangeli added caveats. Michael Elizabeth Chastain for checking
 | 
						|
   and adding to the Configure section. <!-- Rusty insisted on this
 | 
						|
   bit; I didn't do it! --> Telsa Gwynne for teaching me DocBook. 
 | 
						|
  </para>
 | 
						|
 </chapter>
 | 
						|
</book>
 | 
						|
 |