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1HOWTO do Linux kernel development
2---------------------------------
3
4This is the be-all, end-all document on this topic. It contains
5instructions on how to become a Linux kernel developer and how to learn
6to work with the Linux kernel development community. It tries to not
7contain anything related to the technical aspects of kernel programming,
8but will help point you in the right direction for that.
9
10If anything in this document becomes out of date, please send in patches
11to the maintainer of this file, who is listed at the bottom of the
12document.
13
14
15Introduction
16------------
17
18So, you want to learn how to become a Linux kernel developer? Or you
19have been told by your manager, "Go write a Linux driver for this
20device." This document's goal is to teach you everything you need to
21know to achieve this by describing the process you need to go through,
22and hints on how to work with the community. It will also try to
23explain some of the reasons why the community works like it does.
24
25The kernel is written mostly in C, with some architecture-dependent
26parts written in assembly. A good understanding of C is required for
27kernel development. Assembly (any architecture) is not required unless
28you plan to do low-level development for that architecture. Though they
29are not a good substitute for a solid C education and/or years of
30experience, the following books are good for, if anything, reference:
31 - "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie [Prentice Hall]
32 - "Practical C Programming" by Steve Oualline [O'Reilly]
4de0ca81 33 - "C: A Reference Manual" by Harbison and Steele [Prentice Hall]
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34
35The kernel is written using GNU C and the GNU toolchain. While it
36adheres to the ISO C89 standard, it uses a number of extensions that are
37not featured in the standard. The kernel is a freestanding C
38environment, with no reliance on the standard C library, so some
39portions of the C standard are not supported. Arbitrary long long
40divisions and floating point are not allowed. It can sometimes be
41difficult to understand the assumptions the kernel has on the toolchain
42and the extensions that it uses, and unfortunately there is no
43definitive reference for them. Please check the gcc info pages (`info
44gcc`) for some information on them.
45
46Please remember that you are trying to learn how to work with the
47existing development community. It is a diverse group of people, with
48high standards for coding, style and procedure. These standards have
49been created over time based on what they have found to work best for
50such a large and geographically dispersed team. Try to learn as much as
51possible about these standards ahead of time, as they are well
52documented; do not expect people to adapt to you or your company's way
53of doing things.
54
55
56Legal Issues
57------------
58
59The Linux kernel source code is released under the GPL. Please see the
60file, COPYING, in the main directory of the source tree, for details on
61the license. If you have further questions about the license, please
62contact a lawyer, and do not ask on the Linux kernel mailing list. The
63people on the mailing lists are not lawyers, and you should not rely on
64their statements on legal matters.
65
66For common questions and answers about the GPL, please see:
67 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html
68
69
70Documentation
71------------
72
73The Linux kernel source tree has a large range of documents that are
74invaluable for learning how to interact with the kernel community. When
75new features are added to the kernel, it is recommended that new
76documentation files are also added which explain how to use the feature.
77When a kernel change causes the interface that the kernel exposes to
78userspace to change, it is recommended that you send the information or
79a patch to the manual pages explaining the change to the manual pages
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80maintainer at mtk.manpages@gmail.com, and CC the list
81linux-api@vger.kernel.org.
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82
83Here is a list of files that are in the kernel source tree that are
84required reading:
85 README
86 This file gives a short background on the Linux kernel and describes
87 what is necessary to do to configure and build the kernel. People
88 who are new to the kernel should start here.
89
90 Documentation/Changes
91 This file gives a list of the minimum levels of various software
92 packages that are necessary to build and run the kernel
93 successfully.
94
95 Documentation/CodingStyle
96 This describes the Linux kernel coding style, and some of the
97 rationale behind it. All new code is expected to follow the
98 guidelines in this document. Most maintainers will only accept
99 patches if these rules are followed, and many people will only
100 review code if it is in the proper style.
101
102 Documentation/SubmittingPatches
103 Documentation/SubmittingDrivers
104 These files describe in explicit detail how to successfully create
105 and send a patch, including (but not limited to):
106 - Email contents
107 - Email format
108 - Who to send it to
109 Following these rules will not guarantee success (as all patches are
110 subject to scrutiny for content and style), but not following them
111 will almost always prevent it.
112
113 Other excellent descriptions of how to create patches properly are:
114 "The Perfect Patch"
937d9f55 115 http://www.ozlabs.org/~akpm/stuff/tpp.txt
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116 "Linux kernel patch submission format"
117 http://linux.yyz.us/patch-format.html
118
119 Documentation/stable_api_nonsense.txt
120 This file describes the rationale behind the conscious decision to
121 not have a stable API within the kernel, including things like:
122 - Subsystem shim-layers (for compatibility?)
123 - Driver portability between Operating Systems.
124 - Mitigating rapid change within the kernel source tree (or
125 preventing rapid change)
126 This document is crucial for understanding the Linux development
127 philosophy and is very important for people moving to Linux from
128 development on other Operating Systems.
129
130 Documentation/SecurityBugs
131 If you feel you have found a security problem in the Linux kernel,
132 please follow the steps in this document to help notify the kernel
133 developers, and help solve the issue.
134
135 Documentation/ManagementStyle
136 This document describes how Linux kernel maintainers operate and the
137 shared ethos behind their methodologies. This is important reading
138 for anyone new to kernel development (or anyone simply curious about
139 it), as it resolves a lot of common misconceptions and confusion
140 about the unique behavior of kernel maintainers.
141
142 Documentation/stable_kernel_rules.txt
143 This file describes the rules on how the stable kernel releases
144 happen, and what to do if you want to get a change into one of these
145 releases.
146
147 Documentation/kernel-docs.txt
148 A list of external documentation that pertains to kernel
149 development. Please consult this list if you do not find what you
150 are looking for within the in-kernel documentation.
151
152 Documentation/applying-patches.txt
153 A good introduction describing exactly what a patch is and how to
154 apply it to the different development branches of the kernel.
155
156The kernel also has a large number of documents that can be
157automatically generated from the source code itself. This includes a
158full description of the in-kernel API, and rules on how to handle
159locking properly. The documents will be created in the
160Documentation/DocBook/ directory and can be generated as PDF,
161Postscript, HTML, and man pages by running:
162 make pdfdocs
163 make psdocs
164 make htmldocs
165 make mandocs
166respectively from the main kernel source directory.
167
168
169Becoming A Kernel Developer
170---------------------------
171
172If you do not know anything about Linux kernel development, you should
173look at the Linux KernelNewbies project:
174 http://kernelnewbies.org
175It consists of a helpful mailing list where you can ask almost any type
176of basic kernel development question (make sure to search the archives
177first, before asking something that has already been answered in the
178past.) It also has an IRC channel that you can use to ask questions in
179real-time, and a lot of helpful documentation that is useful for
180learning about Linux kernel development.
181
182The website has basic information about code organization, subsystems,
183and current projects (both in-tree and out-of-tree). It also describes
184some basic logistical information, like how to compile a kernel and
185apply a patch.
186
187If you do not know where you want to start, but you want to look for
188some task to start doing to join into the kernel development community,
189go to the Linux Kernel Janitor's project:
0ea6e611 190 http://kernelnewbies.org/KernelJanitors
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191It is a great place to start. It describes a list of relatively simple
192problems that need to be cleaned up and fixed within the Linux kernel
193source tree. Working with the developers in charge of this project, you
194will learn the basics of getting your patch into the Linux kernel tree,
195and possibly be pointed in the direction of what to go work on next, if
196you do not already have an idea.
197
198If you already have a chunk of code that you want to put into the kernel
199tree, but need some help getting it in the proper form, the
200kernel-mentors project was created to help you out with this. It is a
201mailing list, and can be found at:
202 http://selenic.com/mailman/listinfo/kernel-mentors
203
204Before making any actual modifications to the Linux kernel code, it is
205imperative to understand how the code in question works. For this
206purpose, nothing is better than reading through it directly (most tricky
207bits are commented well), perhaps even with the help of specialized
208tools. One such tool that is particularly recommended is the Linux
209Cross-Reference project, which is able to present source code in a
210self-referential, indexed webpage format. An excellent up-to-date
211repository of the kernel code may be found at:
82082660 212 http://lxr.linux.no/+trees
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213
214
215The development process
216-----------------------
217
218Linux kernel development process currently consists of a few different
219main kernel "branches" and lots of different subsystem-specific kernel
220branches. These different branches are:
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221 - main 3.x kernel tree
222 - 3.x.y -stable kernel tree
223 - 3.x -git kernel patches
d36cc9d0 224 - subsystem specific kernel trees and patches
591bfc6b 225 - the 3.x -next kernel tree for integration tests
d36cc9d0 226
591bfc6b 2273.x kernel tree
d36cc9d0 228-----------------
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2293.x kernels are maintained by Linus Torvalds, and can be found on
230kernel.org in the pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ directory. Its development
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231process is as follows:
232 - As soon as a new kernel is released a two weeks window is open,
233 during this period of time maintainers can submit big diffs to
234 Linus, usually the patches that have already been included in the
c607cf0c 235 -next kernel for a few weeks. The preferred way to submit big changes
d36cc9d0 236 is using git (the kernel's source management tool, more information
e234ebf7 237 can be found at http://git-scm.com/) but plain patches are also just
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238 fine.
239 - After two weeks a -rc1 kernel is released it is now possible to push
240 only patches that do not include new features that could affect the
241 stability of the whole kernel. Please note that a whole new driver
242 (or filesystem) might be accepted after -rc1 because there is no
243 risk of causing regressions with such a change as long as the change
244 is self-contained and does not affect areas outside of the code that
245 is being added. git can be used to send patches to Linus after -rc1
246 is released, but the patches need to also be sent to a public
247 mailing list for review.
248 - A new -rc is released whenever Linus deems the current git tree to
249 be in a reasonably sane state adequate for testing. The goal is to
250 release a new -rc kernel every week.
251 - Process continues until the kernel is considered "ready", the
252 process should last around 6 weeks.
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253 - Known regressions in each release are periodically posted to the
254 linux-kernel mailing list. The goal is to reduce the length of
255 that list to zero before declaring the kernel to be "ready," but, in
256 the real world, a small number of regressions often remain at
257 release time.
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258
259It is worth mentioning what Andrew Morton wrote on the linux-kernel
260mailing list about kernel releases:
261 "Nobody knows when a kernel will be released, because it's
262 released according to perceived bug status, not according to a
263 preconceived timeline."
264
591bfc6b 2653.x.y -stable kernel tree
d36cc9d0 266---------------------------
591bfc6b 267Kernels with 3-part versions are -stable kernels. They contain
d36cc9d0 268relatively small and critical fixes for security problems or significant
591bfc6b 269regressions discovered in a given 3.x kernel.
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270
271This is the recommended branch for users who want the most recent stable
272kernel and are not interested in helping test development/experimental
273versions.
274
591bfc6b 275If no 3.x.y kernel is available, then the highest numbered 3.x
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276kernel is the current stable kernel.
277
591bfc6b 2783.x.y are maintained by the "stable" team <stable@vger.kernel.org>, and
2eb7f204 279are released as needs dictate. The normal release period is approximately
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280two weeks, but it can be longer if there are no pressing problems. A
281security-related problem, instead, can cause a release to happen almost
282instantly.
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283
284The file Documentation/stable_kernel_rules.txt in the kernel tree
285documents what kinds of changes are acceptable for the -stable tree, and
286how the release process works.
287
591bfc6b 2883.x -git patches
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289------------------
290These are daily snapshots of Linus' kernel tree which are managed in a
291git repository (hence the name.) These patches are usually released
292daily and represent the current state of Linus' tree. They are more
293experimental than -rc kernels since they are generated automatically
294without even a cursory glance to see if they are sane.
295
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296Subsystem Specific kernel trees and patches
297-------------------------------------------
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298The maintainers of the various kernel subsystems --- and also many
299kernel subsystem developers --- expose their current state of
300development in source repositories. That way, others can see what is
301happening in the different areas of the kernel. In areas where
302development is rapid, a developer may be asked to base his submissions
303onto such a subsystem kernel tree so that conflicts between the
304submission and other already ongoing work are avoided.
305
306Most of these repositories are git trees, but there are also other SCMs
307in use, or patch queues being published as quilt series. Addresses of
308these subsystem repositories are listed in the MAINTAINERS file. Many
309of them can be browsed at http://git.kernel.org/.
310
311Before a proposed patch is committed to such a subsystem tree, it is
312subject to review which primarily happens on mailing lists (see the
313respective section below). For several kernel subsystems, this review
314process is tracked with the tool patchwork. Patchwork offers a web
315interface which shows patch postings, any comments on a patch or
316revisions to it, and maintainers can mark patches as under review,
317accepted, or rejected. Most of these patchwork sites are listed at
0ea6e611 318http://patchwork.kernel.org/.
c607cf0c 319
591bfc6b 3203.x -next kernel tree for integration tests
c607cf0c 321---------------------------------------------
591bfc6b 322Before updates from subsystem trees are merged into the mainline 3.x
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323tree, they need to be integration-tested. For this purpose, a special
324testing repository exists into which virtually all subsystem trees are
325pulled on an almost daily basis:
591bfc6b 326 http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/next/linux-next.git
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327
328This way, the -next kernel gives a summary outlook onto what will be
329expected to go into the mainline kernel at the next merge period.
330Adventurous testers are very welcome to runtime-test the -next kernel.
d36cc9d0 331
8a465c32 332
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333Bug Reporting
334-------------
335
336bugzilla.kernel.org is where the Linux kernel developers track kernel
337bugs. Users are encouraged to report all bugs that they find in this
338tool. For details on how to use the kernel bugzilla, please see:
0302c01b 339 http://bugzilla.kernel.org/page.cgi?id=faq.html
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340
341The file REPORTING-BUGS in the main kernel source directory has a good
342template for how to report a possible kernel bug, and details what kind
343of information is needed by the kernel developers to help track down the
344problem.
345
346
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347Managing bug reports
348--------------------
349
350One of the best ways to put into practice your hacking skills is by fixing
351bugs reported by other people. Not only you will help to make the kernel
352more stable, you'll learn to fix real world problems and you will improve
353your skills, and other developers will be aware of your presence. Fixing
4db29c17 354bugs is one of the best ways to get merits among other developers, because
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355not many people like wasting time fixing other people's bugs.
356
357To work in the already reported bug reports, go to http://bugzilla.kernel.org.
358If you want to be advised of the future bug reports, you can subscribe to the
359bugme-new mailing list (only new bug reports are mailed here) or to the
360bugme-janitor mailing list (every change in the bugzilla is mailed here)
361
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362 http://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/bugme-new
363 http://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/bugme-janitors
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364
365
366
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367Mailing lists
368-------------
369
370As some of the above documents describe, the majority of the core kernel
371developers participate on the Linux Kernel Mailing list. Details on how
372to subscribe and unsubscribe from the list can be found at:
373 http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html#linux-kernel
374There are archives of the mailing list on the web in many different
375places. Use a search engine to find these archives. For example:
376 http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel
377It is highly recommended that you search the archives about the topic
378you want to bring up, before you post it to the list. A lot of things
379already discussed in detail are only recorded at the mailing list
380archives.
381
382Most of the individual kernel subsystems also have their own separate
383mailing list where they do their development efforts. See the
384MAINTAINERS file for a list of what these lists are for the different
385groups.
386
387Many of the lists are hosted on kernel.org. Information on them can be
388found at:
389 http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html
390
391Please remember to follow good behavioral habits when using the lists.
392Though a bit cheesy, the following URL has some simple guidelines for
393interacting with the list (or any list):
394 http://www.albion.com/netiquette/
395
396If multiple people respond to your mail, the CC: list of recipients may
397get pretty large. Don't remove anybody from the CC: list without a good
398reason, or don't reply only to the list address. Get used to receiving the
399mail twice, one from the sender and the one from the list, and don't try
400to tune that by adding fancy mail-headers, people will not like it.
401
402Remember to keep the context and the attribution of your replies intact,
403keep the "John Kernelhacker wrote ...:" lines at the top of your reply, and
404add your statements between the individual quoted sections instead of
405writing at the top of the mail.
406
407If you add patches to your mail, make sure they are plain readable text
408as stated in Documentation/SubmittingPatches. Kernel developers don't
409want to deal with attachments or compressed patches; they may want
410to comment on individual lines of your patch, which works only that way.
411Make sure you use a mail program that does not mangle spaces and tab
412characters. A good first test is to send the mail to yourself and try
413to apply your own patch by yourself. If that doesn't work, get your
414mail program fixed or change it until it works.
415
416Above all, please remember to show respect to other subscribers.
417
418
419Working with the community
420--------------------------
421
422The goal of the kernel community is to provide the best possible kernel
423there is. When you submit a patch for acceptance, it will be reviewed
424on its technical merits and those alone. So, what should you be
425expecting?
426 - criticism
427 - comments
428 - requests for change
429 - requests for justification
430 - silence
431
432Remember, this is part of getting your patch into the kernel. You have
433to be able to take criticism and comments about your patches, evaluate
434them at a technical level and either rework your patches or provide
435clear and concise reasoning as to why those changes should not be made.
436If there are no responses to your posting, wait a few days and try
437again, sometimes things get lost in the huge volume.
438
439What should you not do?
440 - expect your patch to be accepted without question
441 - become defensive
442 - ignore comments
443 - resubmit the patch without making any of the requested changes
444
445In a community that is looking for the best technical solution possible,
446there will always be differing opinions on how beneficial a patch is.
447You have to be cooperative, and willing to adapt your idea to fit within
448the kernel. Or at least be willing to prove your idea is worth it.
449Remember, being wrong is acceptable as long as you are willing to work
450toward a solution that is right.
451
452It is normal that the answers to your first patch might simply be a list
453of a dozen things you should correct. This does _not_ imply that your
454patch will not be accepted, and it is _not_ meant against you
455personally. Simply correct all issues raised against your patch and
456resend it.
457
458
459Differences between the kernel community and corporate structures
460-----------------------------------------------------------------
461
462The kernel community works differently than most traditional corporate
463development environments. Here are a list of things that you can try to
106f9d93 464do to avoid problems:
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465 Good things to say regarding your proposed changes:
466 - "This solves multiple problems."
467 - "This deletes 2000 lines of code."
468 - "Here is a patch that explains what I am trying to describe."
469 - "I tested it on 5 different architectures..."
470 - "Here is a series of small patches that..."
471 - "This increases performance on typical machines..."
472
473 Bad things you should avoid saying:
474 - "We did it this way in AIX/ptx/Solaris, so therefore it must be
475 good..."
476 - "I've being doing this for 20 years, so..."
477 - "This is required for my company to make money"
478 - "This is for our Enterprise product line."
479 - "Here is my 1000 page design document that describes my idea"
480 - "I've been working on this for 6 months..."
481 - "Here's a 5000 line patch that..."
482 - "I rewrote all of the current mess, and here it is..."
483 - "I have a deadline, and this patch needs to be applied now."
484
485Another way the kernel community is different than most traditional
486software engineering work environments is the faceless nature of
487interaction. One benefit of using email and irc as the primary forms of
488communication is the lack of discrimination based on gender or race.
489The Linux kernel work environment is accepting of women and minorities
490because all you are is an email address. The international aspect also
491helps to level the playing field because you can't guess gender based on
492a person's name. A man may be named Andrea and a woman may be named Pat.
493Most women who have worked in the Linux kernel and have expressed an
494opinion have had positive experiences.
495
496The language barrier can cause problems for some people who are not
497comfortable with English. A good grasp of the language can be needed in
498order to get ideas across properly on mailing lists, so it is
499recommended that you check your emails to make sure they make sense in
500English before sending them.
501
502
503Break up your changes
504---------------------
505
506The Linux kernel community does not gladly accept large chunks of code
507dropped on it all at once. The changes need to be properly introduced,
508discussed, and broken up into tiny, individual portions. This is almost
509the exact opposite of what companies are used to doing. Your proposal
510should also be introduced very early in the development process, so that
511you can receive feedback on what you are doing. It also lets the
512community feel that you are working with them, and not simply using them
513as a dumping ground for your feature. However, don't send 50 emails at
514one time to a mailing list, your patch series should be smaller than
515that almost all of the time.
516
517The reasons for breaking things up are the following:
518
5191) Small patches increase the likelihood that your patches will be
520 applied, since they don't take much time or effort to verify for
521 correctness. A 5 line patch can be applied by a maintainer with
522 barely a second glance. However, a 500 line patch may take hours to
523 review for correctness (the time it takes is exponentially
524 proportional to the size of the patch, or something).
525
526 Small patches also make it very easy to debug when something goes
527 wrong. It's much easier to back out patches one by one than it is
528 to dissect a very large patch after it's been applied (and broken
529 something).
530
5312) It's important not only to send small patches, but also to rewrite
532 and simplify (or simply re-order) patches before submitting them.
533
534Here is an analogy from kernel developer Al Viro:
535 "Think of a teacher grading homework from a math student. The
536 teacher does not want to see the student's trials and errors
537 before they came up with the solution. They want to see the
538 cleanest, most elegant answer. A good student knows this, and
539 would never submit her intermediate work before the final
540 solution."
541
542 The same is true of kernel development. The maintainers and
543 reviewers do not want to see the thought process behind the
544 solution to the problem one is solving. They want to see a
545 simple and elegant solution."
546
547It may be challenging to keep the balance between presenting an elegant
548solution and working together with the community and discussing your
549unfinished work. Therefore it is good to get early in the process to
550get feedback to improve your work, but also keep your changes in small
551chunks that they may get already accepted, even when your whole task is
552not ready for inclusion now.
553
554Also realize that it is not acceptable to send patches for inclusion
555that are unfinished and will be "fixed up later."
556
557
558Justify your change
559-------------------
560
561Along with breaking up your patches, it is very important for you to let
562the Linux community know why they should add this change. New features
563must be justified as being needed and useful.
564
565
566Document your change
567--------------------
568
569When sending in your patches, pay special attention to what you say in
570the text in your email. This information will become the ChangeLog
571information for the patch, and will be preserved for everyone to see for
572all time. It should describe the patch completely, containing:
573 - why the change is necessary
574 - the overall design approach in the patch
575 - implementation details
576 - testing results
577
578For more details on what this should all look like, please see the
579ChangeLog section of the document:
580 "The Perfect Patch"
937d9f55 581 http://www.ozlabs.org/~akpm/stuff/tpp.txt
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582
583
584
585
586All of these things are sometimes very hard to do. It can take years to
587perfect these practices (if at all). It's a continuous process of
588improvement that requires a lot of patience and determination. But
589don't give up, it's possible. Many have done it before, and each had to
590start exactly where you are now.
591
592
593
594
595----------
5bd982ed 596Thanks to Paolo Ciarrocchi who allowed the "Development Process"
0ea6e611 597(http://lwn.net/Articles/94386/) section
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598to be based on text he had written, and to Randy Dunlap and Gerrit
599Huizenga for some of the list of things you should and should not say.
600Also thanks to Pat Mochel, Hanna Linder, Randy Dunlap, Kay Sievers,
601Vojtech Pavlik, Jan Kara, Josh Boyer, Kees Cook, Andrew Morton, Andi
602Kleen, Vadim Lobanov, Jesper Juhl, Adrian Bunk, Keri Harris, Frans Pop,
603David A. Wheeler, Junio Hamano, Michael Kerrisk, and Alex Shepard for
604their review, comments, and contributions. Without their help, this
605document would not have been possible.
606
607
608
609Maintainer: Greg Kroah-Hartman <greg@kroah.com>